Top nations in materials science based on impact

Nation	Papers	Citations	Citations %3Cbr /%3Eper paper
1 United States	72,141	684,332	9.49
2 The Netherlands	4,985	46,067	9.24
3 Israel	2,544	23,138	9.10
4 Switzerland	4,801	41,937	8.74
5 Denmark	1,602	13,258	8.28
6 Scotland	1,797	13,641	7.59
7 England	21,243	158,366	7.45
8 Singapore	5,153	36,761	7.13
9 Belgium	3,977	,774	6.98
10 Germany	34,168	2,561	6.66
11 France	23,137	152,462	6.59
12 Sweden	6,461	42,255	6.54
13 Austria	3,355	21,684	6.46
14 Canada	11,300	70,831	6.
15 Italy	10,456	61,593	5.89
16 Spain	11,021	64,618	5.86
17 Australia	7,410	43,189	5.83
18 Japan	53,138	305,603	5.75
19 Finland	2,811	15,633	5.56
20 Taiwan	10,575	53,364	5.05

The data above were extracted from the Essential Science Indicators database of Thomson Reuters. This database, currently covering the period January 1998 through August 2008, surveys only journal articles (original research reports and review articles) indexed by Thomson Reuters. Articles are assigned to a category based on the journals in which they were published and Thomson Reuters’ journal-to-category field-definition scheme. Both articles tabulated and citation counts to those articles are for the period indicated. Here our ranking in materials science is by citations per paper – among nations that collected 10,000 or more citations during the period – to reveal weighted impact. For articles with multiple authors from different nations, each nation receives full, not fractional, citation credit. Essential Science Indicators lists nations ranked in the top 50 per cent for a field over a given period, based on total citations. In materials science, 78 nations are listed, meaning 156 were surveyed. Thirty-two nations collected at least 10,000 citations during the period.

For more information on Thomson Reuters’ Essential Science Indicators, see http://scientific.thomsonreuters.com/products/esi.