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Government institution · New York · United States

United Nations

In research, United Nations stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,895 of 9,585 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,500 of 5,988 worldwide) and Sociology and Political Science (#1,449 of 2,526 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Political Science and International Relations (Political Science and International Relations is 11.3× its share of world research).

un.org/en/index.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#5,752
of 22,385 · #2,684 all time
Rank in United States
#773
of 3,332
Research works
4.1k
▲ 3% vs 2018-21
Citations
53k
12.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
8.6%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.94×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
33%
world 40%
International
25%
world 18%
United Nations

What is United Nations known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #2,895 of 9,585 8.7%264 #1262
Social SciencesField #2,500 of 5,988 8.7%195 #1319
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,449 of 2,526 9.3%69 #1176
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #756 of 1,187 9.2%68 #414
Physical SciencesDomain #7,699 of 10,670 8.9%74 #5970

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where United Nations sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#1,262 #2,895
  2. Social Sciences#1,319 #2,500
  3. Sociology and Political Science#1,176 #1,449
  4. Political Science and International Relations#414 #756
  5. Physical Sciences#5,970 #7,699
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

Which fields of science does United Nations work in?

In 2022-now, 66% of research at United Nations is in Social Sciences, 20% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (48%), Environmental Science (7%), Economics, Econometrics and Finance (6%). It does 2.6× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 298 fractional works · 66.0% of its workSocial Sciences: 217 fractional works · 48.1% of its workSociology and Political Science: 78 fractional works · 17.4% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 75 fractional works · 16.7% of its workLaw: 13 fractional works · 2.8% of its workDevelopment: 8 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEducation: 7 fractional works · 1.6% of its workGender Studies: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workSafety Research: 5 fractional works · 1.0% of its workUrban Studies: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workDemography: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workTransportation: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAnthropology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCultural Studies: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCommunication: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workLinguistics and Language: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPublic Administration: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHuman Factors and Ergonomics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 26 fractional works · 5.8% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 16 fractional works · 3.5% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 7 fractional works · 1.6% of its workFinance: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 24 fractional works · 5.2% of its workStrategy and Management: 10 fractional works · 2.1% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 6 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workManagement Information Systems: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAccounting: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMarketing: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBusiness and International Management: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 15 fractional works · 3.4% of its workHistory: 5 fractional works · 1.2% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workArcheology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhilosophy: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPsychology: 8 fractional works · 1.8% of its workClinical Psychology: 4 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSocial Psychology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 8 fractional works · 1.7% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysical Sciences: 91 fractional works · 20.1% of its workEnvironmental Science: 34 fractional works · 7.5% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 10 fractional works · 2.3% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workWater Science and Technology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEcology: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPollution: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEngineering: 19 fractional works · 4.3% of its workMechanical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAerospace Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMedia Technology: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workOcean Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBuilding and Construction: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputer Science: 16 fractional works · 3.5% of its workInformation Systems: 6 fractional works · 1.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 4 fractional works · 1.0% of its workComputer Science Applications: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 7 fractional works · 1.6% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMathematics: 5 fractional works · 1.1% of its workStatistics and Probability: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workModeling and Simulation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGeology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSpace and Planetary Science: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnergy: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Energy: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workChemical Health and Safety: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 45 fractional works · 10.0% of its workMedicine: 26 fractional works · 5.7% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 7 fractional works · 1.5% of its workSurgery: 3 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInfectious Diseases: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEpidemiology: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Informatics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 7 fractional works · 1.5% of its workHealth Professions: 18 fractional works · 4.0% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 12 fractional works · 2.7% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNursing: 2 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workLife Sciences: 17 fractional works · 3.8% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 13 fractional works · 2.8% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 4 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPlant Science: 3 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSoil Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMolecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 2 fractional works · 0.4% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKUnited Nations451fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences4%Physical Sciences20%Health Sciences10%Social Sciences66%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 25 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences21748.1%
    2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance265.8%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting245.2%
    4. Arts and Humanities153.4%
    5. Psychology81.8%
    6. Decision Sciences81.7%
    1. Environmental Science347.5%
    2. Engineering194.3%
    3. Computer Science163.5%
    4. Physics and Astronomy71.6%
    5. Mathematics51.1%
    6. Earth and Planetary Sciences41.0%
    7. Energy30.6%
    8. Chemical Engineering20.5%
    9. Chemistry10.1%
    10. Materials Science00.1%
    1. Medicine265.7%
    2. Health Professions184.0%
    3. Nursing20.3%
    4. Dentistry00.0%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences132.8%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology20.5%
    3. Neuroscience20.4%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology10.1%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does United Nations specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Political Science and International Relations takes 11.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 75.5 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.58× its world share, 12 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.13× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.23× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.33× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.09× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.45× its world share, 16 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.62× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.67× its world share, 3 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.28× its world share, 19 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.50× its world share, 34 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.91× its world share, 5 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.71× its world share, 7 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.53× its world share, 18 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.29× its world share, 26 worksMedicineNursing: 0.70× its world share, 2 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 1.18× its world share, 15 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.62× its world share, 24 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.72× its world share, 8 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.71× its world share, 26 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.59× its world share, 8 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.80× its world share, 217 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Social Sciences, 3.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Social Sciences3.80×217 works
  2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance2.71×26 works
  3. Decision Sciences1.72×8 works
  4. Business, Management and Accounting1.62×24 works
  5. Health Professions1.53×18 works
  6. Environmental Science1.50×34 works
  7. Chemical Engineering1.33×2 works
  8. Arts and Humanities1.18×15 works
  9. Mathematics0.91×5 works
  10. Physics and Astronomy0.71×7 works
  11. Nursing0.70×2 works
  12. Energy0.67×3 works
  13. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.62×4 works
  14. Psychology0.59×8 works
  15. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.58×12 works
  16. Computer Science0.45×16 works
  17. Medicine0.29×26 works
  18. Engineering0.28×19 works
  19. Neuroscience0.23×2 works
  20. Immunology and Microbiology0.13×1 works
  21. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.10×2 works
  22. Chemistry0.09×1 works
  23. Dentistry0.05×0 works
  24. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.03×0 works
  25. Materials Science0.02×0 works

Who are the top researchers at United Nations?

Ranked on the quality score, Joann Vanek, Jeremy Boy and Georg Kell lead among researchers whose main affiliation is United Nations.

  1. 1 Joann Vanek United States · #1,000,609 worldwide 1.1k citations · 19 works
  2. 2 Jeremy Boy United States · #1,027,056 worldwide 1.5k citations · 49 works
  3. 3 Georg Kell United States · #1,221,263 worldwide 867 citations · 49 works
  4. 4 John L. Washburn United States · #1,401,978 worldwide 866 citations · 29 works
  5. 5 Stefan Barriga United States · #1,419,458 worldwide 285 citations · 171 works
  6. 6 Daphna Shraga United States · #1,488,758 worldwide 643 citations · 19 works
  7. 7 Hania Zlotnik United States · #1,577,416 worldwide 9.6k citations · 57 works
  8. 8 Volker H. Niem United States · #1,667,485 worldwide 1.7k citations · 16 works
  9. 9 Martin Wählisch United States · #1,830,983 worldwide 145 citations · 28 works
  10. 10 Sidney Dell United States · #1,900,400 worldwide 577 citations · 52 works
All ranked researchers at United Nations

What are the most cited papers from United Nations?

The most cited paper from United Nations is "Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015" (Mohammad Hossein Forouzanfar et al., 2016), with 7,829 citations. Next come "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013" (6,558) and "Status and distribution of mangrove forests of the world using earth observation satellite data" (3,200).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 Mohammad Hossein Forouzanfar et al. · The Lancet Open access654 authors Oct 2016 7,829
2 Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 Theo Vos et al. · The Lancet Open access679 authors 7 Jun 2015 6,558
3 Status and distribution of mangrove forests of the world using earth observation satellite data Chandra P. Giri, Enock Odera Ochieng, Larry L. Tieszen et al. · Global Ecology and Biogeography 17 Aug 2010 3,200
4 Improved allometric models to estimate the aboveground biomass of tropical trees Jérôme Chave et al. · Global Change Biology Open access 10 May 2014 3,146
5 The Growing Burden of Tuberculosis Elizabeth Lucy Corbett, Catherine J. Watt, Neff Walker et al. · Archives of Internal Medicine 12 May 2003 2,571
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at United Nations?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Human Rights, Global Governance, Globalization, Climate Change, International Law, Economic Growth, Governance and Security Council.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Human Rights50▲ 11×50 topics
  2. Climate Change37▲ 3.0×65 topics
  3. Globalization35▲ 4.0×59 topics
  4. Global Governance30▲ 28×16 topics
  5. Sustainability30▲ 2.7×58 topics
  6. Economic Growth23▲ 6.3×23 topics
  7. International Law22▲ 15×21 topics
  8. Sustainable Development21▲ 3.0×43 topics
  9. Governance20▲ 14×14 topics
  10. Security Council18▲ 81×2 topics
  11. Economic Development16▲ 4.4×26 topics
  12. Democracy15▲ 9.6×14 topics
  13. Sovereignty14▲ 35×7 topics
  14. Development13▲ 8.3×9 topics
  15. International Relations13▲ 12×18 topics
  16. International Cooperation12▲ 53×3 topics
  17. Sustainable Development Goals12▲ 15×7 topics
  18. Migration12▲ 7.8×12 topics
  19. Religion12▲ 5.6×12 topics
  20. Social Justice11▲ 4.2×24 topics
  21. NGOs11▲ 27×5 topics
  22. State Sovereignty11▲ 54×2 topics
  23. Social Inequality10▲ 8.7×6 topics
  24. War Crimes10▲ 52×3 topics
  25. Vulnerability10▲ 9.7×7 topics
  26. Genocide10▲ 42×2 topics
  27. Poverty Reduction10▲ 17×5 topics
  28. Politics10▲ 8.3×12 topics
  29. European Union10▲ 9.7×16 topics
  30. Humanitarian Intervention9▲ 58×2 topics
  31. International Criminal Law9▲ 91×1 topic
  32. International Humanitarian Law9▲ 91×1 topic
  33. Responsibility to Protect9▲ 72×1 topic
  34. United Nations9▲ 72×1 topic
  35. China-Africa Relations9▲ 49×2 topics
  36. Indicators9▲ 117×1 topic
  37. Millennium Development Goals9▲ 117×1 topic
  38. Political Economy9▲ 7.5×14 topics
  39. Development Policies8▲ 55×1 topic
  40. Foreign Aid8▲ 55×1 topic

Which research topics does United Nations publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Global Peace and Security Dynamics, International Law and Human Rights, Human Rights and Development and International Development and Aid.

Global Peace and Securit…9Global Peace and Security Dynamics: 9 fractional worksInternational Law and Hu…9International Law and Human Rights: 9 fractional worksHuman Rights and Develop…9Human Rights and Development: 9 fractional worksInternational Developmen…8International Development and Aid: 8 fractional worksWater Governance and Infrastructure: 5 fractional worksEnvironmental law and policy: 5 fractional worksTerrorism, Counterterror…4Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence: 4 fractional worksGlobal Public Health Policies and Epidemiology: 4 fractional worksArctic and Russian Policy Studies: 4 fractional worksClimate Change, Adaptation, Migration: 4 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsSociology and Political ScienceDevelopmentLaw1 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Global Peace and Security Dynamics Political Science and International Relations 9 works
  2. 2 International Law and Human Rights Political Science and International Relations 9 works
  3. 3 Human Rights and Development Sociology and Political Science 9 works
  4. 4 International Development and Aid Development 8 works
  5. 5 Water Governance and Infrastructure Political Science and International Relations 5 works
  6. 6 Environmental law and policy Law 5 works
  7. 7 Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  8. 8 Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management 4 works
  9. 9 Arctic and Russian Policy Studies Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  10. 10 Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration Sociology and Political Science 4 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available33.0%not open67.0%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors24.9%domestic only75.1%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has United Nations's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 3% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is United Nations as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0016% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%0.015%United Nations0.0017% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of United Nations over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting5%10%15%all institutions10.0% in 2025United Nations5.3% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 14.3% in 2013.

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United Nations on Science Explorer

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