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Government institution · New York · United States

United Nations

In research, United Nations stands highest in Social Sciences (#4,097 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,523 of 6,365 worldwide) and Sociology and Political Science (#1,794 of 2,578 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Political Science and International Relations — Political Science and International Relations is 11.6× its share of world research.

un.org/en/index.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#13,997
of 28,054 · #7,888 all time
Rank in United States
#1,952
of 4,192
Research works
4.1k
▼ 24% vs 2013–17
Citations
53k
12.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
14.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
33%
world 28%

What is United Nations known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #4,097 of 10,521 15.3%264 #1618
Social SciencesField #2,523 of 6,365 16.1%195 #1480
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,794 of 2,578 15.4%69 #1104
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #908 of 1,201 15.5%68 #436
Physical SciencesDomain #11,309 of 12,888 14.1%74 #10526

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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#1,618 #4,097
  2. Social Sciences#1,480 #2,523
  3. Sociology and Political Science#1,104 #1,794
  4. Political Science and International Relations#436 #908
  5. Physical Sciences#10,526 #11,309
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

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

What does United Nations specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Political Science and International Relations takes 11.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 68.0 works12×
← 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: 0.60× its world share, 11 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.15× its world share, 1 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 1.28× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.47× its world share, 14 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.52× its world share, 3 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.75× its world share, 3 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.27× its world share, 16 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.30× its world share, 26 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.94× its world share, 4 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.62× its world share, 6 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.62× its world share, 17 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.29× its world share, 22 worksMedicineNursing: 0.75× its world share, 1 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 1.00× its world share, 11 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.74× its world share, 22 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.60× its world share, 6 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.74× its world share, 23 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.54× its world share, 6 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.91× its world share, 195 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Social Sciences, 3.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at United Nations?

Ranked on the composite score, Jozef M. van Brabant, Boutros Boutros‐Ghali and Hania Zlotnik lead among researchers whose main affiliation is United Nations.

  1. 1 Jozef M. van Brabant United States · #176,864 worldwide 81 citations · 48 works
  2. 2 Boutros Boutros‐Ghali United States · #223,856 worldwide 25 citations · 40 works
  3. 3 Hania Zlotnik United States · #263,386 worldwide 115 citations · 17 works
  4. 4 Kofi Annan United States · #289,038 worldwide 77 citations · 65 works
  5. 5 Kálmán Kalotay United States · #363,495 worldwide 80 citations · 25 works
  6. 6 Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky United States · #418,603 worldwide 13 citations · 31 works
  7. 7 Stefan Barriga United States · #439,770 worldwide 1 citations · 39 works
  8. 8 A. O. Adede United States · #461,620 worldwide 20 citations · 19 works
  9. 9 Satya N. Nandan United States · #504,293 worldwide 12 citations · 30 works
  10. 10 Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona United States · #535,332 worldwide 33 citations · 15 works
All ranked researchers at United Nations

Which keywords describe research at United Nations?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Human Rights, Global Governance, Globalization, Economic Growth, Governance, International Law, Climate Change 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 2022–2025 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 Rights45▲ 11×44 topics
  2. Globalization32▲ 4.2×56 topics
  3. Climate Change31▲ 2.9×55 topics
  4. Global Governance28▲ 31×15 topics
  5. Sustainability26▲ 2.7×50 topics
  6. Economic Growth22▲ 6.6×20 topics
  7. Governance20▲ 15×13 topics
  8. International Law19▲ 16×20 topics
  9. Sustainable Development19▲ 3.0×36 topics
  10. Security Council17▲ 80×2 topics
  11. Economic Development16▲ 4.9×25 topics
  12. Democracy15▲ 10×12 topics
  13. Sovereignty13▲ 35×7 topics
  14. Innovation12▲ 3.0×28 topics
  15. Development12▲ 8.8×8 topics
  16. International Relations12▲ 12×15 topics
  17. Sustainable Development Goals11▲ 17×7 topics
  18. International Cooperation11▲ 59×2 topics
  19. Migration11▲ 8.3×12 topics
  20. NGOs11▲ 28×5 topics
  21. State Sovereignty11▲ 56×2 topics
  22. Religion11▲ 5.7×11 topics
  23. Social Justice10▲ 4.4×21 topics
  24. Social Inequality10▲ 9.4×6 topics
  25. Poverty Reduction10▲ 19×4 topics
  26. Genocide9▲ 42×2 topics
  27. War Crimes9▲ 55×2 topics
  28. European Union9▲ 10×16 topics
  29. Politics9▲ 8.6×12 topics
  30. China-Africa Relations9▲ 53×2 topics
  31. Humanitarian Intervention9▲ 59×1 topic
  32. Responsibility to Protect9▲ 73×1 topic
  33. Vulnerability8▲ 9.5×6 topics
  34. Development Policies8▲ 59×1 topic
  35. Foreign Aid8▲ 59×1 topic
  36. Indicators8▲ 124×1 topic
  37. Millennium Development Goals8▲ 124×1 topic
  38. International Criminal Law8▲ 88×1 topic
  39. International Humanitarian Law8▲ 88×1 topic
  40. Geopolitics8▲ 13×6 topics

Which research topics does United Nations publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Global Peace and Security Dynamics, International Development and Aid, Human Rights and Development and International Law and Human Rights.

Global Peace and Securit…9Global Peace and Security Dynamics: 9 fractional worksInternational Developmen…8International Development and Aid: 8 fractional worksHuman Rights and Develop…8Human Rights and Development: 8 fractional worksInternational Law and Hu…8International Law and Human Rights: 8 fractional worksWater Governance and Infrastructure: 5 fractional worksEnvironmental law and policy: 4 fractional worksArctic and Russian Polic…4Arctic and Russian Policy Studies: 4 fractional worksGlobal Public Health Policies and Epidemiology: 4 fractional worksTerrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence: 4 fractional worksEuropean and International Law Studies: 3 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsDevelopmentSociology and Political ScienceLaw1 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 Development and Aid Development 8 works
  3. 3 Human Rights and Development Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  4. 4 International Law and Human Rights Political Science and International Relations 8 works
  5. 5 Water Governance and Infrastructure Political Science and International Relations 5 works
  6. 6 Environmental law and policy Law 4 works
  7. 7 Arctic and Russian Policy Studies Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  8. 8 Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management 4 works
  9. 9 Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  10. 10 European and International Law Studies Political Science and International Relations 3 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: 28% of research is openly available.

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

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has United Nations's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 24% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in New York

All research institutions in New York

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.