10 countries with high-performing hubs of natural-sciences research

The United States leads, but China is closing the gap, with large gains in output since 2015.

30 April 2020

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See the 2020 Annual Tables Top 100 countries for 2019.

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***Editor’s note: *The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. The metrics of Count and Share used to order Nature Index listings are based on an institution’s or country’s publication output in 82 natural-science journals, selected on reputation by an independent panel of leading scientists in their fields. Nature Index recognizes that many other factors must be taken into account when considering research quality and institutional performance; Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals. Nature Index data and methods are transparent and available under a creative commons licence at natureindex.com.