Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies is a research topic within Geography, Planning and Development. Science Explorer counts 17k research works in it since 1950. 28.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the human settlement and impact on the Pacific Islands, focusing on topics such as Polynesian colonization, agricultural development, environmental changes, genetic diversity, and cultural history. It delves into the complex interactions between early human societies and island ecosystems, shedding light on the prehistoric migration patterns and environmental impact of Pacific settlement.
- Pacific Islands
- settlement
- archaeology
- agriculture
- environmental impact
- genetic diversity
- Polynesian colonization
- prehistoric migration
- island ecosystems
- cultural history
- Research works
- 17k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 4.9k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 28.5% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +16% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies research?
By volume, the United States and Indonesia publish the most (450 and 331 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 450 works
- 2 Indonesia 331 works
- 3 China 265 works
- 4 Australia 258 works
- 5 France 135 works
- 6 United Kingdom 129 works
- 7 New Zealand 98 works
- 8 Japan 64 works
- 9 India 64 works
- 10 Canada 62 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Australian National University publishes the most Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies research, followed by University of Otago and National Research and Innovation Agency.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Australian National UniversityAustralia 66 works
- 2 University of OtagoNew Zealand 25 works
- 3 National Research and Innovation AgencyIndonesia 21 works
- 4 University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaUnited States 21 works
- 5 The University of QueenslandAustralia 19 works
- 6 University of AucklandNew Zealand 16 works
- 7 Universitas Gadjah MadaIndonesia 14 works
- 8 Institute of ArchaeologyChina 14 works
- 9 Victoria University of WellingtonNew Zealand 14 works
- 10 Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and ArchaeologyChina 14 works
Who are the leading researchers in Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies include E. Conte, Hai Cheng and Daniel Pauly.
- 1 E. Conte Armenia 3.3k citations
- 2 Hai Cheng China 2.9k citations
- 3 Daniel Pauly Canada 2.2k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies research done?
The largest centres of Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Canberra (Australia), Paris (France) and Jakarta (Indonesia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Honolulu, Dunedin and Canberra.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- HonoluluUS · 34.2 works40×
- DunedinNZ · 26.6 works35×
- CanberraAU · 79.4 works23×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies?
Among universities, judged by research, Australian National University, University of Auckland and University of Otago score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian National UniversityAustralia | 69.2 | 29.4% | 54.8× | 66 | +14.7% |
| 2 | University of AucklandNew Zealand | 62.0 | 43.0% | 12.5× | 16 | -19.3% |
| 3 | University of OtagoNew Zealand | 61.2 | 31.3% | 35.8× | 25 | +15.5% |
| 4 | Flinders UniversityAustralia | 60.3 | 42.6% | 15.8× | 8 | +65.8% |
| 5 | University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaUnited States | 59.3 | 31.7% | 41.4× | 21 | +32.0% |
| 6 | James Cook UniversityAustralia | 55.1 | 36.6% | 26.7× | 9 | +21.2% |
| 7 | The University of QueenslandAustralia | 54.3 | 24.1% | 9.4× | 19 | +22.5% |
| 8 | Griffith UniversityAustralia | 49.4 | 35.1% | 8.6× | 8 | +30.7% |
| 9 | IPB UniversityIndonesia | 45.7 | 21.4% | 7.4× | 10 | +324.7% |
| 10 | Monash UniversityAustralia | 45.1 | 43.5% | 4.8× | 10 | +23.0% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 16% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.