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Institution · Nairobi · Kenya

United Nations Environment Programme

In research, United Nations Environment Programme stands highest in Social Sciences (#5,529 of 14,833 worldwide), Environmental Science (#2,043 of 5,407 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#8,788 of 17,446 worldwide), over all time. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Environmental Science (Environmental Science is 6.2× its share of world research).

unep.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#17,379
of 22,385 · #10,758 all time
Rank in Kenya
#55
of 69
Research works
802
▼ 16% vs 2018-21
Citations
18k
22.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.5%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.07×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
30%
world 40%
International
37%
world 18%
United Nations Environment Programme

What is United Nations Environment Programme known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, over all time, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorks
Social SciencesDomain #5,529 of 14,833 9.1%270
Environmental ScienceField #2,043 of 5,407 10.3%270
Physical SciencesDomain #8,788 of 17,446 9.2%416
Social SciencesField #5,069 of 9,330 10.8%158

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where United Nations Environment Programme 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 fields of science does United Nations Environment Programme work in?

In 2022-now, 48% of research at United Nations Environment Programme is in Physical Sciences, 39% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Environmental Science (31%), Social Sciences (26%), Engineering (10%). It does 1.5× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 43 fractional works · 47.7% of its workEnvironmental Science: 28 fractional works · 30.6% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 8 fractional works · 9.1% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 5 fractional works · 5.1% of its workEcology: 3 fractional works · 3.5% of its workPollution: 3 fractional works · 3.5% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 2 fractional works · 2.2% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 1 fractional works · 1.6% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workWater Science and Technology: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workEcological Modeling: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEngineering: 9 fractional works · 10.4% of its workBuilding and Construction: 3 fractional works · 3.1% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workMechanical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workOcean Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAerospace Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMedia Technology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMaterials Science: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiomaterials: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.6% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workOceanography: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 1 fractional works · 1.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workInformation Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSpectroscopy: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 35 fractional works · 39.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 24 fractional works · 26.3% of its workSociology and Political Science: 13 fractional works · 14.2% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 4 fractional works · 3.9% of its workLaw: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workUrban Studies: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEducation: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workTransportation: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workHealth: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAnthropology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDemography: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGender Studies: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 5 fractional works · 5.1% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 3 fractional works · 3.8% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workFinance: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 4 fractional works · 4.4% of its workStrategy and Management: 2 fractional works · 2.4% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workMarketing: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workManagement Information Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArts and Humanities: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workReligious studies: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workApplied Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 0 fractional works · 0.6% of its workLife Sciences: 7 fractional works · 8.1% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 7 fractional works · 7.5% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workSoil Science: 1 fractional works · 1.5% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPlant Science: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workForestry: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAquatic Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMolecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGenetics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 5 fractional works · 5.2% of its workMedicine: 2 fractional works · 2.5% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workHealth Informatics: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEpidemiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysiology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workInfectious Diseases: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHealth Professions: 2 fractional works · 2.2% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 0 fractional works · 0.5% of its workALL ITS WORKUnited NationsEnvironment…90fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences8%Physical Sciences48%Health Sciences5%Social Sciences39%

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 22 fields, with their numbers
    1. Environmental Science2830.6%
    2. Engineering910.4%
    3. Materials Science21.7%
    4. Earth and Planetary Sciences11.6%
    5. Energy11.5%
    6. Computer Science11.0%
    7. Chemistry00.4%
    8. Mathematics00.2%
    9. Chemical Engineering00.2%
    10. Physics and Astronomy00.1%
    1. Social Sciences2426.3%
    2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance55.1%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting44.4%
    4. Arts and Humanities11.5%
    5. Psychology11.2%
    6. Decision Sciences00.6%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences77.5%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology00.5%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology00.1%
    1. Medicine22.5%
    2. Health Professions22.2%
    3. Nursing00.5%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does United Nations Environment Programme specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Environmental Science takes 6.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Environmental ScienceField · 27.7 works6.2×
← 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: 1.58× its world share, 7 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Chemical Engineering: 0.52× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.27× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.04× its world share, 2 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.64× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.69× its world share, 9 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 6.17× its world share, 28 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.48× its world share, 2 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.17× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.83× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksMedicineNursing: 1.00× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.52× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.37× its world share, 4 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.57× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.39× its world share, 5 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.39× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.08× its world share, 24 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Environmental Science, 6.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 22 fields, with their numbers
  1. Environmental Science6.17×28 works
  2. Economics, Econometrics and Finance2.39×5 works
  3. Social Sciences2.08×24 works
  4. Energy1.64×1 works
  5. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1.58×7 works
  6. Business, Management and Accounting1.37×4 works
  7. Earth and Planetary Sciences1.04×2 works
  8. Nursing1.00×0 works
  9. Health Professions0.83×2 works
  10. Engineering0.69×9 works
  11. Decision Sciences0.57×0 works
  12. Chemical Engineering0.52×0 works
  13. Arts and Humanities0.52×1 works
  14. Materials Science0.48×2 works
  15. Psychology0.39×1 works
  16. Chemistry0.27×0 works
  17. Mathematics0.17×0 works
  18. Medicine0.13×2 works
  19. Computer Science0.12×1 works
  20. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.09×0 works
  21. Immunology and Microbiology0.07×0 works
  22. Physics and Astronomy0.03×0 works

Who are the top researchers at United Nations Environment Programme?

Ranked on the quality score, Gabriel Grimsditch, Pushpam Kumar and Ole Vestergaard lead among researchers whose main affiliation is United Nations Environment Programme.

  1. 1 Gabriel Grimsditch Kenya · #261,886 worldwide 2.6k citations · 47 works
  2. 2 Pushpam Kumar Kenya · #291,293 worldwide 13k citations · 94 works
  3. 3 Ole Vestergaard Kenya · #606,516 worldwide 1.8k citations · 23 works
  4. 4 Musonda Mumba Kenya · #971,430 worldwide 774 citations · 16 works
  5. 5 Johnson Ndi Nkem Kenya · #1,255,175 worldwide 2.4k citations · 76 works
  6. 6 Desta Mebratu Kenya · #1,377,653 worldwide 2.1k citations · 29 works
  7. 7 Michael D. Gwynne Kenya · #1,390,452 worldwide 2k citations · 41 works
  8. 8 Jerker Tamelander Kenya · #1,540,651 worldwide 1.9k citations · 39 works
  9. 9 Richard Munang Kenya · #1,732,778 worldwide 1.3k citations · 35 works
  10. 10 Johannes Refisch Kenya · #1,883,543 worldwide 560 citations · 30 works
All ranked researchers at United Nations Environment Programme

What are the most cited papers from United Nations Environment Programme?

The most cited paper from United Nations Environment Programme is "The 2005 World Health Organization Reevaluation of Human and Mammalian Toxic Equivalency Factors for Dioxins and Dioxin-Like Compounds" (Martin van den Berg, Linda S. Birnbaum, Michael S. Denison et al., 2006), with 3,805 citations. Next come "Status and distribution of mangrove forests of the world using earth observation satellite data" (3,200) and "The IPBES Conceptual Framework — connecting nature and people" (2,619).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 The 2005 World Health Organization Reevaluation of Human and Mammalian Toxic Equivalency Factors for Dioxins and Dioxin-Like Compounds Martin van den Berg, Linda S. Birnbaum, Michael S. Denison et al. · Toxicological Sciences Open access 7 Jul 2006 3,805
2 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
3 The IPBES Conceptual Framework — connecting nature and people Sandra M. Díaz et al. · Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability ReviewOpen access 19 Dec 2014 2,619
4 Global estimates of the value of ecosystems and their services in monetary units R.S. de Groot, Luke Brander, Sander van der Ploeg et al. · Ecosystem Services Open access Jul 2012 2,596
5 Convention on Biological Diversity Angela Cropper · Environmental Conservation Open access 1993 2,481
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at United Nations Environment Programme?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Sustainability, Environmental Impact, Vulnerability, Global Warming, Sustainable Development, Adaptation and Biodiversity Conservation.

▲ 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. Climate Change19▲ 7.6×48 topics
  2. Sustainability10▲ 4.6×34 topics
  3. Environmental Impact8▲ 5.0×24 topics
  4. Sustainable Development6▲ 3.9×14 topics
  5. Vulnerability5▲ 25×7 topics
  6. Renewable Energy5▲ 3.9×11 topics
  7. Global Warming5▲ 12×9 topics
  8. Human Rights5▲ 4.9×8 topics
  9. Adaptation4▲ 14×5 topics
  10. Biodiversity Conservation4▲ 11×9 topics
  11. Community Engagement4▲ 12×5 topics
  12. Ethics4▲ 7.6×5 topics
  13. Local Development3▲ 36×2 topics
  14. Religion3▲ 8.1×3 topics
  15. Territorial Governance3▲ 32×2 topics
  16. Greenhouse Gas Emissions3▲ 13×6 topics
  17. Global Governance3▲ 14×4 topics
  18. Development3▲ 8.9×5 topics
  19. Public Policy3▲ 6.7×3 topics
  20. Waste Management3▲ 8.0×4 topics
  21. Food Security3▲ 5.7×7 topics
  22. Environmental Ethics3▲ 46×3 topics
  23. Land Use Change3▲ 9.9×4 topics
  24. Migration3▲ 8.8×5 topics
  25. Citizen Participation3▲ 25×2 topics
  26. Public Perception3▲ 22×4 topics
  27. Social Justice3▲ 4.7×3 topics
  28. Conservation2▲ 6.5×7 topics
  29. Ecosystem Services2▲ 7.2×9 topics
  30. Circular Economy2▲ 9.9×4 topics
  31. Environmental Participation2▲ 37×1 topic
  32. Proximity and Innovation2▲ 37×1 topic
  33. Sea-Level Rise2▲ 22×2 topics
  34. International Cooperation2▲ 50×2 topics
  35. Sustainable Development Goals2▲ 14×3 topics
  36. Islam2▲ 11×3 topics
  37. Environmental Refugees2▲ 105×1 topic
  38. Household Fuel Use2▲ 32×1 topic
  39. Indoor Air Pollution2▲ 32×1 topic
  40. Natural Disasters2▲ 105×1 topic

Which research topics does United Nations Environment Programme publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: French Urban and Social Studies, Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration, Energy and Environment Impacts and Religion, Society, and Development.

French Urban and Social …2French Urban and Social Studies: 2 fractional worksClimate Change, Adaptati…2Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration: 2 fractional worksEnergy and Environment Impacts: 2 fractional worksReligion, Society, and Development: 2 fractional worksReligion, Ecology, and Ethics: 2 fractional worksAtmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics: 2 fractional worksClimate change impacts on agriculture: 1 fractional worksConservation, Biodiversi…1Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management: 1 fractional worksEnvironmental law and policy: 1 fractional worksHuman Rights and Development: 1 fractional works
Sociology and Political SciencePollutionGlobal and Planetary ChangeEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics1 others

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

  1. 1 French Urban and Social Studies Sociology and Political Science 2 works
  2. 2 Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration Sociology and Political Science 2 works
  3. 3 Energy and Environment Impacts Pollution 2 works
  4. 4 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 2 works
  5. 5 Religion, Ecology, and Ethics Sociology and Political Science 2 works
  6. 6 Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics Global and Planetary Change 2 works
  7. 7 Climate change impacts on agriculture Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 1 works
  8. 8 Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management Global and Planetary Change 1 works
  9. 9 Environmental law and policy Law 1 works
  10. 10 Human Rights and Development Sociology and Political Science 1 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 available29.7%not open70.3%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors37.3%domestic only62.7%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has United Nations Environment Programme's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 16% lower 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 Environment Programme as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00030% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%United Nations Environment Programme0.00043% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of United Nations Environment Programme 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 counting10%20%United Nations Environment Programme15.2% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 18.5% in 2021.

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United Nations Environment Programme on Science Explorer

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