Persistent geographical biases in global scientific collaboration and citations

TL;DR

This study reveals that geographic and national biases in scientific collaboration and citations persist or have intensified over time, affecting global knowledge exchange and recognition.

Contribution

It provides large-scale empirical evidence of persistent spatial and national biases in scientific collaboration and citation patterns from 2000 to 2022.

Findings

Geographic distance continues to constrain collaboration more over time.

Citation flows are less affected by spatial proximity, indicating freer intellectual influence.

China is increasingly collaborating with others but remains undercited globally.

Abstract

Scientific knowledge flows enable cumulative progress by connecting researchers across disciplines, institutions, and countries. Yet it remains unclear how geography and national structures continue to shape these exchanges in an increasingly connected world. Using a large-scale bibliometric dataset from OpenAlex, which covers 39.35 million publications across 95 countries and 3,794 cities between 2000 and 2022, we examine global knowledge diffusion through two complementary channels: co-authorship and citation. We find that the constraining effect of geographic distance on collaboration has not diminished over time but has instead intensified, suggesting persistent structural or institutional barriers. Citation flows, by contrast, are less sensitive to spatial proximity, indicating that intellectual influence may diffuse more freely across borders. At the country level, research networks exhibit strong domestic preferences and a shared citation orientation toward the United States. China, while increasingly favored as a collaboration partner by other countries, continues to be systematically undercited within global citation flows. International mobility increases researchers' collaboration with scholars in their host country but has limited effects on citation flows. These results highlight the structural persistence of spatial and country biases in global science, with implications for equitable participation and recognition across regions.