The top 10 countries in research collaboration

This interactive visualization reveals the tightest pairs.

12 July 2019

Nature Index

The number of international research collaborations has tripled over the past 15 years, and that trend is expected to continue as researchers come together to tackle proliferating global issues.

But as countries such as China and Japan increase their international ties, Brexit looms as a serious threat to cross-border collaborations involving UK scientists, particularity in Ireland.

The patterns of international collaboration that connect the world through research reveal as much about the biggest players as they do the rising stars.

This article looking at publication records dating back to 1991 shows that while internationally co-authored papers have increased tenfold in the most advanced countries, among the BRIC group of emerging countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), they have increased twentyfold.

You can explore the tangled web of international collaborations yourself using Nature Index's interactive Connected World visualization.

You can search by subject (life sciences, physical sciences, chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences) or region. You can isolate the top 10 countries, or explore the countries with the lowest rates of international collaborations.

Each connection between countries reveals the contribution balance, so you can see who’s pulling their weight, and whose share lags behind.

Click onto each country to view statistics about its top 10 collaborators, its collaboration per subject, and its top 10 institutions by high-quality research output.

Explore the Connected World visualization.

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