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Scientific publications, international benchmark (WoS)

data publication
Science in Figures
08 July 2022
publications science
How many scientific publications did Dutch researchers and researchers from twenty reference countries publish in 2011 and 2021? In these data publications, we show both the absolute and relative number of scientific publications.

In short

  • The Netherlands publishes on average when we look at the absolute number of scientific publications in 2021.
  • China and the US published the most scientific publications in 2021.
  • The Netherlands has the most scientific publications per 100 FTE researchers (2021).

How many scientific publications were published by the Netherlands and reference countries in 2011 and 2021?

Source: Clarivate Analytics/ WoS database, extraction by Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) and analysis by Rathenau Instituut.
Notes: Data are presented for the Netherlands and twenty other countries.

How many scientific publications were published per 100 FTE researchers in 2021?

Source: Clarivate Analytics/ WoS database, extraction CWTS and analysis by Rathenau Instituut and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI) database
Notes: Data are presented for the Netherlands and 19 other countries with respect to the number of publications in 2021, as registered in the Web of Science by Clarivate Analytics (analysed by CWTS). The number of public sector researchers (FTE) is based on OECD/ MSTI-data over 2020 (2018 for CAN and AUS, and 2019 for CHE, SGP, UK) The US is not included because of missing information about public sector researchers.

Analysis
China and the US published the most scientific publications in 2021. The top chart also shows that China has grown a lot between 2011 and 2021. The Netherlands holds a position in the middle when the absolute number of scientific publications is concerned. When this number is standardized on the number of researchers in the public sector (FTE), the Netherlands ranks first in the benchmark.

Publications are usually the result of a collaboration between several researchers, often from different institutions from different countries. A 'Dutch' scientific publication is a publication in which at least one Dutch researcher has contributed. The first author is often the one who has done most of the work for the publication. In 61% of Dutch scientific publications in the period 2017-2020, a researcher from a Dutch organization is the first author.

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