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University · Reykjavik · Iceland

University of Iceland

In research, University of Iceland stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,119 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#1,448 of 12,888 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#1,807 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Geophysics, History and Gender Studies — Geophysics is 4.8× its share of world research.

hi.isROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,562
of 28,054 · #1,158 all time
Rank in Iceland
#1
of 8
Research works
13k
▲ 25% vs 2013–17
Citations
345k
27.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
42%
world 28%

What is University of Iceland 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 #1,119 of 10,521 24.7%964 #847
Physical SciencesDomain #1,448 of 12,888 18.8%845 #969
Health SciencesDomain #1,807 of 11,982 20.2%400 #1390
Social SciencesField #1,095 of 6,365 26.4%505 #669
MedicineField #1,856 of 10,443 20.6%320 #2178
Life SciencesDomain #2,546 of 7,800 20.7%237 #1882
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #873 of 2,578 26.3%144 #718
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #425 of 1,209 21.1%124 #265
Arts and HumanitiesField #717 of 1,998 21.7%154 #666
Environmental ScienceField #1,366 of 3,551 21.4%190 #936

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Iceland 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#847 #1,119
  2. Physical Sciences#969 #1,448
  3. Health Sciences#1,390 #1,807
  4. Social Sciences#669 #1,095
  5. Medicine#2,178 #1,856
  6. Life Sciences#1,882 #2,546
  7. Sociology and Political Science#718 #873
  8. Earth and Planetary Sciences#265 #425
  9. Arts and Humanities#666 #717
  10. Environmental Science#936 #1,366
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 University of Iceland specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Geophysics takes 4.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. GeophysicsSubfield · 41.5 works4.8×
  2. HistorySubfield · 34.1 works4.3×
  3. Gender StudiesSubfield · 38.5 works4.3×
  4. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 46.4 works4.3×
← 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: 0.46× its world share, 54 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.78× its world share, 102 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.62× its world share, 15 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.31× its world share, 52 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.62× its world share, 14 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.22× its world share, 19 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.76× its world share, 29 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.45× its world share, 85 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 3.24× its world share, 124 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.42× its world share, 32 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.52× its world share, 190 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.56× its world share, 190 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.69× its world share, 59 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.05× its world share, 30 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.59× its world share, 87 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.38× its world share, 5 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.99× its world share, 64 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.68× its world share, 320 worksMedicineNursing: 0.84× its world share, 10 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.62× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 2.18× its world share, 154 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.84× its world share, 66 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.86× its world share, 20 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.34× its world share, 70 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.98× its world share, 148 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.63× its world share, 505 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 3.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Iceland?

Ranked on the composite score, Jón Atli Benediktsson, Thor Aspelund and Jón G. Jónasson lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Iceland.

  1. 1 Jón Atli Benediktsson Iceland · #3,544 worldwide 2.7k citations · 151 works
  2. 2 Thor Aspelund Iceland · #14,985 worldwide 657 citations · 77 works
  3. 3 Jón G. Jónasson Iceland · #24,939 worldwide 375 citations · 43 works
  4. 4 Jóhannes R. Sveinsson Iceland · #27,982 worldwide 590 citations · 45 works
  5. 5 Ólafur Inǵólfsson Iceland · #28,363 worldwide 567 citations · 49 works
  6. 6 Pálmi V. Jónsson Iceland · #31,718 worldwide 346 citations · 47 works
  7. 7 Sigrún H. Lund Iceland · #45,362 worldwide 413 citations · 43 works
  8. 8 Magnús Ö. Úlfarsson Iceland · #54,031 worldwide 353 citations · 37 works
  9. 9 Sigurður R. Gíslason Iceland · #64,419 worldwide 595 citations · 40 works
  10. 10 Gı́sli Pálsson Iceland · #65,081 worldwide 244 citations · 39 works
All ranked researchers at University of Iceland

Which keywords describe research at University of Iceland?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Globalization, Sustainability, Medieval, Mental Health, Religion, Labor Market and Arctic.

▲ 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. Climate Change154▲ 2.3×85 topics
  2. Globalization100▲ 2.1×62 topics
  3. Sustainability87▲ 1.46×66 topics
  4. Epidemiology74▼ 0.77×109 topics
  5. Mental Health66▲ 1.84×37 topics
  6. Remote Sensing52▲ 1.74×26 topics
  7. Environmental Impact52▲ 1.26×39 topics
  8. Inflammation52◆ 1.01×64 topics
  9. Education50▲ 1.20×44 topics
  10. Religion43▲ 3.7×18 topics
  11. Identity40▲ 2.2×34 topics
  12. Labor Market34▲ 4.8×11 topics
  13. Neoliberalism33▲ 3.8×16 topics
  14. Medieval32▲ 35×3 topics
  15. Child Development30▲ 3.0×7 topics
  16. Resilience30▲ 2.5×16 topics
  17. European Union29▲ 5.2×7 topics
  18. Governance28▲ 3.4×11 topics
  19. Arctic26▲ 9.6×4 topics
  20. Financial Crisis26▲ 9.4×8 topics
  21. Academic Achievement25▲ 6.0×9 topics
  22. Cultural Exchange24▲ 7.6×6 topics
  23. Inclusion24▲ 6.9×5 topics
  24. Archaeology24▲ 7.2×5 topics
  25. Trade24▲ 12×3 topics
  26. Industrial Policy23▲ 8.6×2 topics
  27. International Relations23▲ 3.9×12 topics
  28. Material Culture23▲ 22×2 topics
  29. Banking Sector22▲ 77×2 topics
  30. Iceland22▲ 204×1 topic
  31. Socioeconomic Inequality22▲ 103×1 topic
  32. Intersectionality22▲ 5.0×10 topics
  33. Rituals22▲ 10×2 topics
  34. Scandinavia22▲ 58×1 topic
  35. Viking Age22▲ 58×1 topic
  36. Plate Tectonics20▲ 5.3×3 topics
  37. Holocene18▲ 6.3×3 topics
  38. Paleoclimatology17▲ 8.3×2 topics
  39. Sea Level16▲ 7.0×2 topics
  40. Shipping16▲ 13×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Iceland publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: European Socioeconomic and Political Studies, Historical and Archaeological Studies, Geology and Paleoclimatology Research and Arctic and Russian Policy Studies.

European Socioeconomic a…22European Socioeconomic and Political Studies: 22 fractional worksHistorical and Archaeolo…22Historical and Archaeological Studies: 22 fractional worksGeology and Paleoclimato…15Geology and Paleoclimatology Research: 15 fractional worksArctic and Russian Polic…15Arctic and Russian Policy Studies: 15 fractional worksGeological and Geochemical Analysis: 13 fractional worksearthquake and tectonic studies: 12 fractional worksEarly Childhood Educatio…12Early Childhood Education and Development: 12 fractional worksGender Diversity and Inequality: 11 fractional worksMedieval Literature and History: 10 fractional worksDiverse Aspects of Touri…10Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research: 10 fractional works
Economics and EconometricsHistoryAtmospheric ScienceSociology and Political Science4 others

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

  1. 1 European Socioeconomic and Political Studies Economics and Econometrics 22 works
  2. 2 Historical and Archaeological Studies History 22 works
  3. 3 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 15 works
  4. 4 Arctic and Russian Policy Studies Sociology and Political Science 15 works
  5. 5 Geological and Geochemical Analysis Geophysics 13 works
  6. 6 earthquake and tectonic studies Geophysics 12 works
  7. 7 Early Childhood Education and Development Education 12 works
  8. 8 Gender Diversity and Inequality Gender Studies 11 works
  9. 9 Medieval Literature and History Classics 10 works
  10. 10 Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research Sociology and Political Science 10 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 available42.2%not open57.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors38.6%domestic only61.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Iceland's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 25% higher 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 Reykjavik

All research institutions in Reykjavik

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.