Is the United States losing ground in science? A global perspective on the world science system

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the global scientific landscape, highlighting the US's continued dominance despite rising contributions from China and other Asian countries, with nuanced insights into citation metrics and strategic research areas.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of the US, China, and the EU in scientific output, citations, and strategic research coordination using data up to 2006.

Findings

US remains the leading nation in highly cited papers.

China is now the second largest in publications and citations.

The EU benefits more from database expansion in citation share.

Abstract

Based on the Science Citation IndexExpanded webversion, the USA is still by far the strongest nation in terms of scientific performance. Its relative decline in percentage share of publications is largely due to the emergence of China and other Asian nations. In 2006, China has become the second largest nation in terms of the number of publications within this database. In terms of citations, the competitive advantage of the American domestic market is diminished, while the European Union EU is profiting more from the enlargement of the database over time than the US. However, the USA is still outperforming all other countries in terms of highly cited papers and citationpublication ratios, and it is more successful than the EU in coordinating its research efforts in strategic priority areas like nanotechnology. In this field, the Peoples Republic of China PRC has become second largest nation in both numbers of papers published and citations behind the USA.