Newly Published Study Ranks Countries by Volume of Research Output and Research Influence
PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, May 15 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Thomson Scientific, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and leading provider of information solutions to the worldwide research and business communities, today announced the results of an in-depth study of which nations have produced the largest number of elite papers over the last decade. In the May/June issue of Science Watch, a subscription newsletter that uses unique citation data from Thomson Scientific to provide rankings, interviews and reports on today's most significant science, 13 countries are ranked based on both the volume and percentage of published scientific papers (in journals listed in Thomson Scientific's Web of Science(R)) that reached the top one percent of most-cited papers worldwide.
"This survey takes a different approach when ranking elite papers both overall and in specialty fields," said Chris King, editor of Science Watch. "We examined these papers on a global scale and identified which nations are leading scientific thought across all concentrations."
The United States has produced a staggering number of scientific papers over the last decade -- more than 2.9 million -- and took the lead in both the total papers among the top one percent, and the percentage of total papers among the top one percent.
"Considering the sheer volume of papers published by the United States, it is no surprise to see the country top the rankings of total number of papers among the top one percent," said King. "The fact that the U.S. also leads the rankings in percentage of papers among the top one percent demonstrates its tremendous influence on modern scientific thought."
Japan ranked second with 790,510 published papers or roughly one-third of the United States' publication output. England also had a profound influence by placing second highest in both total number of papers and percentage of papers among the top one percent by having published 660,808, or about one-fourth of the United States' total papers.
Total Papers in All Fields from 1996-2006
Country Total Papers,
1996-2006
United States 2,907,592
Japan 790,510
Germany 742,917
England 660,808
France 535,629
China 422,993
Canada 394,727
Italy 369,138
Spain 263,469
Australia 248,189
India 211,063
South Korea 180,329
Taiwan 124,940
Total Papers Among Top 1% Most Cited in All Fields
Country Papers Among Top
1% Most Cited
United States 54,516
England 10,090
Germany 9,427
France 5,967
Japan 5,662
Canada 5,301
Italy 3,825
Australia 2,804
China 2,189
Spain 2,155
South Korea 929
India 694
Taiwan 550
Percentage of Total Papers in All Fields Among Top 1% Most Cited
Percentage of Papers
Country Among Top 1%
United States 1.87
England 1.53
Canada 1.34
Germany 1.27
Australia 1.13
France 1.11
Italy 1.04
Spain 0.82
Japan 0.72
China 0.52
South Korea 0.52
Taiwan 0.44
India 0.33
About The Thomson Corporation
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NOTE: For information on subscribing to Science Watch, contact Christopher King tel: +1 215.823.5341
Note To Editors: For more information about the elite papers rankings, contact Chris Lukach at 856-988-6560, ext. 15 or chris@mail.akleinpr.com.
