Science and technology are universal and epochal, and the development of science and technology must be viewed from a global perspective. At present, major breakthroughs and accelerated applications of technological innovation have been instrumental in reshaping the global economic structure and transforming the arena of industrial and economic competition. The "Research Fronts 2021" report is a prequel to another survey, "Research Fronts 2021: Active Fields, Leading Countries", which selects and discusses 110 hot fronts and 61 emerging fronts in 11 broad research areas. Based on the findings of "Research Fronts 2021", this second report uses the Research Leadership Index to assess the research activity of the world's major countries and to observe how that activity, in the face of global competition in innovation and technological advancement, is demonstrated in these Research Fronts.
Research Leadership Index of a country in a Research Front (RLICij)
Research Leadership Index of a country in an area (RLICik)
Research Leadership Index of a country in 11 broad research areas (RLICi)
We measured the RLIci of main countries for overall performance in 11 broad research areas comprising 171 Research Fronts and ranked the top countries.
The Research Leadership Index (RLICi) of Top 20 Countries in 11 broad research areas
with 171 Research Fronts
Countries
RLICi
Score Rank
RFOICi
Score Rank
RFIICi
Score Rank
USA 209.23 1 113.05 1 96.17 1
China 191.43 2 108.66 2 82.78 2
UK 85.59 3 44.73 3 40.86 3
Germary 64.13 4 34.20 4 29.93 4
Italy 51.71 5 27.54 5 24.16 5
France 48.66 6 25.00 6 23.66 6
Australia 45.18 7 23.19 7 21.98 7
Canada 39.54 8 20.81 9 18.73 9
Spain 39.42 9 20.88 8 18.54 10
Netherlands 37.48 10 18.45 10 19.04 8
Japan 31.59 11 17.75 11 13.85 11
Switzerland 27.52 12 13.78 13 13.74 12
India 25.84 13 14.82 12 11.02 14
South Korea 21.23 14 11.91 14 9.32 15
Belgium 20.94 15 9.91 15 11.03 13
Sweden 15.76 16 7.90 18 7.86 16
Brazil 15.35 17 8.28 16 7.07 19
Russia 14.94 18 7.93 17 7.01 20
Denmark 14.92 19 7.73 19 7.20 18
Singapore 14.86 20 7.56 20 7.30 17
Based on 11 broad research areas and each country's respective performance in the 171 constituent Research Fronts, the USA is the most active, with an RLICi score of 209.23, ranking 1st. China ranks 2nd with a score of 191.43, and the gap with the USA is only 17.83, which has narrowed to less than 10%. The UK, Germany, and Italy score 85.59, 64.13, and 51.71, respectively, ranking 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The RLICi scores for France, Australia, Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands register between 50 and 35, ranking those nations from 6th to 10th, with Japan (at 31.59) ranking 11th.
Note: in this report, data for China does not include that in Chinese Taiwan.
The numbers and ratios of nations ranking among the top three performers in Research Fronts,
among the Top 5 countries in 11 broad research areas with 171 Research Fronts (based on RLICi)
Areas Numbers
of RFs
Numbers of ranking Top three RFs
USA
China
UK
Germany
Italy
Ratios
USA
China
UK
Germany
Italy
11 broad research areas total 171 147 101 62 30 32 85.96% 59.06% 36.26% 17.54% 18.71%
Agricultural, plant and animal sciences 14 9 10 5 2 1 64.29% 71.43% 35.71% 14.29% 7.14%
Ecology and environmental sciences 12 10 9 4 4 1 83.33% 75.00% 33.33% 33.33% 8.33%
Geosciences 11 11 4 4 1 1 100.00% 36.36% 36.36% 9.09% 9.09%
Clinical medicine 39 36 26 13 2 22 92.31% 66.67% 33.33% 5.13% 56.41%
Biological sciences 21 20 10 5 5 1 95.24% 47.62% 23.81% 23.81% 4.76%
Chemistry and materials science 13 11 11 4 3 1 84.62% 84.62% 30.77% 23.08% 7.69%
Physics 11 11 6 2 4 1 100.00% 54.55% 18.18% 36.36% 9.09%
Astronomy and astrophysics 12 12 0 9 7 2 100.00% 0.00% 75.00% 58.33% 16.67%
Mathematics 10 7 8 3 2 1 70.00% 80.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00%
Information Science 11 8 8 3 0 0 72.73% 72.73% 27.27% 0.00% 0.00%
Economics, psychology and other social sciences 17 12 9 10 0 1 70.59% 52.94% 58.82% 0.00% 5.88%
Among nations ranking among the top three performers in the 171 Research Fronts, the USA earns that distinction in 147 fronts, or 85.96%, China in 101 Research Fronts (59.06%), the UK in 62, Germany in 30, and Italy in 32, with the latter three countries able to boast the achievement in 36.26%, 17.54%, and 18.71% of the total number of Research Fronts.
This section highlights the scores and rankings obtained via the RLICik measurement, exploring the Research Front activity and influence of various countries in specific areas, and analyzing the respective sources of national vitality in scientific and technical innovation.
Agricultural, plant and animal sciences
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Agricultural, plant and animal sciences”
Indicators
Score
China
USA
Pakistan
Spain
UK
Rank
China
USA
Pakistan
Spain
UK
RLICik 18.34 13.82 4.97* 4.97* 3.86 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 10.72 7.19 2.83 2.59 1.96 1 2 3 4 6
RFIICik 7.62 6.63 2.14 2.37 1.89 1 2 4 3 5
* Note: the scores for Pakistan and Spain have been rounded to 4.97, although their respective full scores were actually 4.9715 and 4.9655, hence the difference in their ranking.
Ecology and environmental sciences
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Ecology and environmental sciences”
Indicators
Score
China
USA
UK
Germany
Australia
Rank
China
USA
UK
Germany
Australia
RLICik 15.11 13.31 5.90 5.60 3.98 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 8.21 7.33 2.95 2.96 1.75 1 2 4 3 6
RFIICik 6.90 5.98 2.95 2.64 2.23 1 2 3 4 6
Economics, psychology and other social sciences
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Economics, psychology and other social sciences”
Indicators
Score
China
USA
UK
Italy
Canada
Rank
China
USA
UK
Italy
Canada
RLICik 17.88 17.48 9.12 3.95 3.86 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 9.79 9.22 4.31 2.16 2.20 1 2 3 5 4
RFIICik 8.09 8.26 4.81 1.79 1.66 2 1 3 4 5
Geosciences
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Geosciences”
Indicators
Score
USA
China
Australia
UK
France
Rank
USA
China
Australia
UK
France
RLICik 21.47 11.29 8.23 7.83 7.35 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 11.70 6.57 4.34 4.19 3.83 1 2 3 4 5
RFIICik 9.78 4.72 3.88 3.64 3.51 1 2 3 4 5
Clinical medicine
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Clinical medicine”
Indicators
Score
China
USA
UK
Italy
France
Rank
China
USA
UK
Italy
France
RLICik 45.32 44.03 20.60 18.40 13.22 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 22.57 22.78 10.36 9.84 6.44 2 1 3 4 5
RFIICik 22.74 21.25 10.24 8.56 6.78 1 2 3 4 5
Biological sciences
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Biological sciences”
Indicators
Score
USA
China
Germany
UK
Australia
Rank
USA
China
Germany
UK
Australia
RLICik 30.68 16.05 11.33 9.55 7.84 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 16.76 8.50 5.65 5.42 4.00 1 2 3 4 5
RFIICik 13.92 7.55 5.68 4.13 3.84 1 2 3 4 5
Chemistry and materials science
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Chemistry and materials science”
Indicators
Score
China
USA
UK
Germany
Australia
Rank
China
USA
UK
Germany
Australia
RLICik 24.80 7.01 2.41 1.95 1.78 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 15.74 3.77 1.10 1.21 0.96 1 2 4 3 5
RFIICik 9.06 3.25 1.31 0.74 0.82 1 2 3 5 4
Physics
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Physics”
Indicators
Score
USA
China
Japan
Germany
UK
Rank
USA
China
Japan
Germany
UK
RLICik 15.43 9.19 6.14 5.89 4.12 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 8.47 6.16 3.63 3.22 2.36 1 2 3 4 5
RFIICik 6.96 3.03 2.51 2.67 1.76 1 2 4 3 5
Astronomy and astrophysics
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Astronomy and astrophysics”
Indicators
Score
USA
UK
Germany
France
Italy
China
Rank
USA
UK
Germany
France
Italy
China
RLICik 25.59 14.06 12.80 11.46 9.80 7.77 1 2 3 4 5 8
RFOICik 14.55 7.58 6.90 5.90 5.19 4.17 1 2 3 4 5 7
RFIICik 11.04 6.49 5.89 5.55 4.61 3.60 1 2 3 4 5 10
Mathematics
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Mathematics”
Indicators
Score
China
USA
UK
Germany
Italy
Rank
China
USA
UK
Germany
Italy
RLICik 15.90 10.91 3.37 2.87 1.94 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 9.75 5.90 1.94 1.54 1.06 1 2 3 4 6
RFIICik 6.15 5.01 1.43 1.33 0.87 1 2 3 4 5
Information science
The score and rank of Top 5 countries based on RLICik , RFOICik and RFIICik
in the area of “Information science”
Indicators
Score
China
USA
Singapore
UK
Japan
Rank
China
USA
Singapore
UK
Japan
RLICik 9.78 9.49 5.21 4.78 3.04 1 2 3 4 5
RFOICik 6.47 5.39 2.50 2.56 1.31 1 2 4 3 6
RFIICik 3.32 4.10 2.70 2.22 1.73 2 1 3 4 5
China ranks 1st in
AGRICULTURAL, PLANT AND ANIMAL SCIENCES| ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES| CLINICAL MEDICINE|
CHEMISTRY AND MATERIALS SCIENCE| MATHEMATICS| INFORMATION SCIENCE |
ECONOMICS, PSYCHOLOGY AND OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES
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PAST REPORTS
Research Fronts: Active Fields, Leading Countries
2020
Research Fronts: Active Fields, Leading Countries
2019
Research Fronts: Active Fields, Leading Countries
2018
Research Fronts: Active Fields, Leading Countries

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