China presently publishes more than 6 percent of the papers published in Nature journals, according to the Nature Publishing Index 2011 China. Published as a supplement to Nature, the index is seen to provide yet more evidence that China is fast becoming a global leader in scientific publishing and scientific research.
Papers with authors from China represent 6.6 percent (225) of the 3,425 papers published in Nature journals in 2011, up from 5.3 percent (152 papers) in 2010. By comparison, authors from China published just 12 papers in Nature journals in 2000. Notably, of the 225 papers published in 2011, 48 were published in Nature Communications, which launched in April 2010.
The Nature Publishing Index 2011 China also presents a new analysis of ISI Web of Knowledge data, showing that China now publishes more than 10 percent of the world's most cited scientific research. China increased its share of the top 1 percent of highly cited scientific articles from 1.85 percent (127 out of 6,874 articles) in 2001 to 11.3 percent (1,158 out of 10,238 articles) in 2011, and now ranks fourth globally. By 2014, China could surpass Germany and the UK, who currently hold second and third places, says Felix Cheung, Editor of Nature China and of the supplement. The US, which leads the world, has seen its share of highly influential research drop from 64.3 percent (4,420 out of 6,874 articles) in 2001 to 50.7 percent (5,190 out of 10,238 articles) in 2011.
The supplement offers insights into how national investments, institutions and cities have contributed to China's rapid scientific expansion.
The top 10 Chinese institutions of 2011 are: the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Peking University, Tsinghua University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Xiamen University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Nanjing University and BGI Shenzhen.
The Index measures the output of research articles from nations and institutes in terms of publications in the 18 Nature-branded primary research journals in 2011, with 2010 and 2009 data included for comparison.
The Nature Publishing Index 2011 China supplement is available online at www.natureasia.com/en/publishing-index/china/2011/ and is published as a supplement to Nature. The ranking is a snapshot based on papers published in 2011, with 2010, 2009 and three-year total (2009-2011) data included for comparison. The index, updated weekly, is available at www.natureasia.com/publishing-index/china.
