Nature Index

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The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries/territories and their scientific output since its introduction in November, 2014. [1] Originally released with 64 natural-science journals, the Nature Index expanded to 82 natural-science journals in 2018, then added 64 health-science journals in 2023. Each year, Nature Index ranks the leading institutions (which can be companies, universities, government agencies, research institutes, or NGOs) and countries by the number of scientific articles and papers published in leading journals. This ranking can also be categorized by individual fields of research such as life sciences, chemistry, physics, or earth sciences, with different institutions leading in each. The Nature Index was conceived by Nature Portfolio. In total, more than 17,000 institutions are listed in the Nature Index.

Contents

Methodology

The Nature Index attempts to objectively measure the scientific output of institutions and countries, taking into account differences in quality. Therefore, only articles published in 145 selected high-quality journals are counted. These journals were selected by independent committees. If authors from several institutions and/or countries are involved in a scientific article, it is divided accordingly, assuming that all researchers were equally involved in the article. For example, this "fractional count" (Share) received by each author would be 0.1 for an article with 10 authors. If an author is affiliated with more than one institution, that author's Share is then subdivided equally across their affiliated institutions. The process is similar for countries/territories and regions, though the fact that some institutions have overseas labs makes the process more complicated, with such labs being counted towards their appropriate host countries. [2] [3]

Top institutions

The top 25 institutions with the highest share of articles published in scientific journals according to the Nature Index 2023, which is valid for the calendar year 2022: [4]

RankInstitutionCountryTotal share
1 Chinese Academy of Sciences Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 2.065%
2 Harvard University Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1.162%
3 Max Planck Society Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 0.686%
4 French National Centre for Scientific Research Flag of France.svg  France 0.622%
5 University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.590%
6 Stanford University Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 0.587%
7 University of Science and Technology of China Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.567%
8 Nanjing University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.562%
9 Peking University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.557%
10 Tsinghua University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.524%
11 Helmholtz Association Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 0.512%
12 Zhejiang University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.476%
13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 0.473%
14 National Institutes of Health Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 0.442%
15 Shanghai Jiao Tong University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.435%
16 Sun Yat-sen University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.435%
17 University of Cambridge Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 0.428%
18 Fudan University Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 0.426%
19 University of Oxford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 0.420%
20 University of Tokyo Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 0.394%
21 Yale University Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 0.381%
22 University of Pennsylvania Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 0.372%
23 University of Michigan Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 0.366%
24 University of Toronto Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 0.361%
25 ETH Zurich Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 0.352%

Top countries

The top 25 countries with the highest share of articles published in scientific journals according to the Nature Index 2023, which is valid for the calendar year 2022. [5]

RankCountryTotal share
1Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 21.473%
2Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 20.051%
3Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 4.555%
4Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3.967%
5Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2.960%
6Flag of France.svg  France 2.316%
7Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1.791%
8Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 1.635%
9Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1.421%
10Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1.373%
11Flag of India.svg  India 1.280%
12Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1.267%
13Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1.219%
14Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1.116%
15Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 0.800%
16Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 0.661%
17Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 0.575%
18Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 0.551%
19Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan 0.453%
20Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 0.448%
21Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0.446%
22Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 0.425%
23Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 0.328%
24Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 0.297%
25Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 0.269%

Notes

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    References

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    2. "FAQ | Nature Index". www.nature.com/nature-index/. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
    3. "A guide to the Nature Index". Nature. 569 (7756): S31. 2019-05-15. Bibcode:2019Natur.569S..31.. doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-01443-9 .
    4. "2023 tables: Institutions | 2023 tables | Institutions | Nature Index".
    5. "2023 tables: Countries/territories | 2023 tables | Countries/territories | Nature Index".