| 2025 list excluding self-citations | Started before 1992 | Started 1992–2001 | Started 2002–2011 | Started 2012 or later |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||||
| Listed authors | 73,304 29.4% of the list | 60,750 24.4% of the list | 75,626 30.3% of the list | 39,630 15.9% of the list |
| In the global top 100,000 | 35,734 48.7% of the stage | 26,001 42.8% of the stage | 27,112 35.9% of the stage | 11,153 28.1% of the stage |
| Highest-ranked | #1 | #2 | #3 | #124 |
| Nobel laureates | 399 0.5% of the stage | 10 <0.1% of the stage | 2 <0.1% of the stage | 0 0.0% of the stage |
| Top 20 countries | ||||
| United States | 31,950 43.6% of the stage | 17,893 29.5% of the stage | 17,369 23.0% of the stage | 6,512 16.4% of the stage |
| China | 1,620 2.2% of the stage | 6,490 10.7% of the stage | 17,282 22.9% of the stage | 11,812 29.8% of the stage |
| United Kingdom | 6,822 9.3% of the stage | 5,000 8.2% of the stage | 4,586 6.1% of the stage | 1,912 4.8% of the stage |
| Germany | 3,581 4.9% of the stage | 3,534 5.8% of the stage | 2,821 3.7% of the stage | 1,006 2.5% of the stage |
| Australia | 2,743 3.7% of the stage | 2,522 4.2% of the stage | 2,639 3.5% of the stage | 1,070 2.7% of the stage |
| Italy | 2,741 3.7% of the stage | 2,367 3.9% of the stage | 2,341 3.1% of the stage | 1,088 2.7% of the stage |
| Canada | 3,231 4.4% of the stage | 2,380 3.9% of the stage | 2,189 2.9% of the stage | 734 1.9% of the stage |
| India | 1,007 1.4% of the stage | 1,069 1.8% of the stage | 2,569 3.4% of the stage | 2,311 5.8% of the stage |
| France | 2,226 3.0% of the stage | 1,912 3.1% of the stage | 1,414 1.9% of the stage | 363 0.9% of the stage |
| Japan | 2,506 3.4% of the stage | 1,680 2.8% of the stage | 1,201 1.6% of the stage | 353 0.9% of the stage |
| Netherlands | 1,708 2.3% of the stage | 1,469 2.4% of the stage | 1,304 1.7% of the stage | 411 1.0% of the stage |
| Spain | 1,348 1.8% of the stage | 1,312 2.2% of the stage | 1,311 1.7% of the stage | 438 1.1% of the stage |
| South Korea | 387 0.5% of the stage | 1,212 2.0% of the stage | 1,625 2.1% of the stage | 780 2.0% of the stage |
| Switzerland | 1,052 1.4% of the stage | 1,106 1.8% of the stage | 1,057 1.4% of the stage | 384 1.0% of the stage |
| Sweden | 1,002 1.4% of the stage | 724 1.2% of the stage | 744 1.0% of the stage | 258 0.7% of the stage |
| Saudi Arabia | 144 0.2% of the stage | 276 0.5% of the stage | 1,027 1.4% of the stage | 1,239 3.1% of the stage |
| Iran | 75 0.1% of the stage | 331 0.5% of the stage | 1,398 1.8% of the stage | 874 2.2% of the stage |
| Belgium | 647 0.9% of the stage | 679 1.1% of the stage | 651 0.9% of the stage | 206 0.5% of the stage |
| Denmark | 708 1.0% of the stage | 588 1.0% of the stage | 636 0.8% of the stage | 206 0.5% of the stage |
| Hong Kong | 415 0.6% of the stage | 537 0.9% of the stage | 617 0.8% of the stage | 540 1.4% of the stage |
| Fields | ||||
| Clinical Medicine | 26,606 36.3% of the stage | 20,184 33.2% of the stage | 20,970 27.7% of the stage | 8,395 21.2% of the stage |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 3,452 4.7% of the stage | 4,516 7.4% of the stage | 9,218 12.2% of the stage | 6,627 16.7% of the stage |
| Physics & Astronomy | 7,528 10.3% of the stage | 5,048 8.3% of the stage | 5,298 7.0% of the stage | 2,511 6.3% of the stage |
| Engineering | 4,116 5.6% of the stage | 4,402 7.2% of the stage | 6,936 9.2% of the stage | 4,103 10.4% of the stage |
| Information & Communication Technologies | 2,351 3.2% of the stage | 3,206 5.3% of the stage | 6,588 8.7% of the stage | 5,940 15.0% of the stage |
| Biomedical Research | 7,574 10.3% of the stage | 4,774 7.9% of the stage | 4,336 5.7% of the stage | 1,264 3.2% of the stage |
| Chemistry | 3,705 5.1% of the stage | 3,586 5.9% of the stage | 5,805 7.7% of the stage | 3,759 9.5% of the stage |
| Biology | 3,577 4.9% of the stage | 2,842 4.7% of the stage | 2,412 3.2% of the stage | 663 1.7% of the stage |
| Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry | 2,245 3.1% of the stage | 2,231 3.7% of the stage | 2,902 3.8% of the stage | 1,384 3.5% of the stage |
| Earth & Environmental Sciences | 3,118 4.3% of the stage | 2,235 3.7% of the stage | 2,171 2.9% of the stage | 1,021 2.6% of the stage |
| Social Sciences | 1,725 2.4% of the stage | 1,765 2.9% of the stage | 2,224 2.9% of the stage | 984 2.5% of the stage |
| Economics & Business | 1,600 2.2% of the stage | 1,686 2.8% of the stage | 2,071 2.7% of the stage | 1,155 2.9% of the stage |
| Public Health & Health Services | 1,282 1.7% of the stage | 1,296 2.1% of the stage | 1,336 1.8% of the stage | 544 1.4% of the stage |
| Psychology & Cognitive Sciences | 1,752 2.4% of the stage | 1,077 1.8% of the stage | 1,041 1.4% of the stage | 266 0.7% of the stage |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 1,368 1.9% of the stage | 664 1.1% of the stage | 633 0.8% of the stage | 284 0.7% of the stage |
| Built Environment & Design | 260 0.4% of the stage | 335 0.6% of the stage | 597 0.8% of the stage | 370 0.9% of the stage |
| Communication & Textual Studies | 325 0.4% of the stage | 367 0.6% of the stage | 537 0.7% of the stage | 206 0.5% of the stage |
| Historical Studies | 493 0.7% of the stage | 342 0.6% of the stage | 346 0.5% of the stage | 59 0.1% of the stage |
| Philosophy & Theology | 195 0.3% of the stage | 173 0.3% of the stage | 168 0.2% of the stage | 74 0.2% of the stage |
| Visual & Performing Arts | 32 <0.1% of the stage | 21 <0.1% of the stage | 37 <0.1% of the stage | 21 0.1% of the stage |
| Top 20 subfields | ||||
| Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | 1,090 1.5% of the stage | 1,738 2.9% of the stage | 3,940 5.2% of the stage | 4,086 10.3% of the stage |
| Neurology & Neurosurgery | 3,455 4.7% of the stage | 2,250 3.7% of the stage | 1,792 2.4% of the stage | 435 1.1% of the stage |
| Energy | 1,043 1.4% of the stage | 1,359 2.2% of the stage | 2,995 4.0% of the stage | 2,460 6.2% of the stage |
| Oncology & Carcinogenesis | 2,437 3.3% of the stage | 2,289 3.8% of the stage | 2,386 3.2% of the stage | 709 1.8% of the stage |
| General & Internal Medicine | 1,500 2.0% of the stage | 1,413 2.3% of the stage | 2,485 3.3% of the stage | 2,052 5.2% of the stage |
| Materials | 1,400 1.9% of the stage | 1,476 2.4% of the stage | 2,495 3.3% of the stage | 1,614 4.1% of the stage |
| Applied Physics | 2,448 3.3% of the stage | 1,591 2.6% of the stage | 1,860 2.5% of the stage | 963 2.4% of the stage |
| Cardiovascular System & Hematology | 2,080 2.8% of the stage | 1,430 2.4% of the stage | 1,284 1.7% of the stage | 395 1.0% of the stage |
| Microbiology | 1,678 2.3% of the stage | 1,344 2.2% of the stage | 1,358 1.8% of the stage | 457 1.2% of the stage |
| Networking & Telecommunications | 657 0.9% of the stage | 871 1.4% of the stage | 1,861 2.5% of the stage | 1,448 3.7% of the stage |
| Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | 2,627 3.6% of the stage | 1,054 1.7% of the stage | 624 0.8% of the stage | 208 0.5% of the stage |
| Plant Biology & Botany | 1,378 1.9% of the stage | 1,156 1.9% of the stage | 1,246 1.6% of the stage | 492 1.2% of the stage |
| Nanoscience & Nanotechnology | 229 0.3% of the stage | 711 1.2% of the stage | 1,908 2.5% of the stage | 1,285 3.2% of the stage |
| Organic Chemistry | 869 1.2% of the stage | 813 1.3% of the stage | 1,384 1.8% of the stage | 937 2.4% of the stage |
| Immunology | 1,528 2.1% of the stage | 1,049 1.7% of the stage | 887 1.2% of the stage | 186 0.5% of the stage |
| Nuclear & Particle Physics | 1,338 1.8% of the stage | 854 1.4% of the stage | 911 1.2% of the stage | 472 1.2% of the stage |
| Pharmacology & Pharmacy | 850 1.2% of the stage | 703 1.2% of the stage | 1,218 1.6% of the stage | 724 1.8% of the stage |
| Developmental Biology | 1,235 1.7% of the stage | 1,003 1.7% of the stage | 999 1.3% of the stage | 221 0.6% of the stage |
| Mechanical Engineering & Transports | 853 1.2% of the stage | 699 1.2% of the stage | 1,070 1.4% of the stage | 747 1.9% of the stage |
| Surgery | 935 1.3% of the stage | 872 1.4% of the stage | 918 1.2% of the stage | 364 0.9% of the stage |
Each column is one career stage, by the year of the authors’ first paper. Under each count is its share of the stage’s listed authors: the bar shows it out of 100%, and the highest share in the row gets the crown, so a crown in a later column marks a country, field or subfield with more of the newer stages. For example, China has 11,812 of the 39,630 listed authors who started publishing in 2012 or later: 11,812 ÷ 39,630 = 29.8%. Countries and subfields: the 20 with the most listed authors in the whole list.