Scientific Reports has reached a milestone of supporting more than one million authors whose open access research has collectively received over 6.65 million citations.
More than one million unique researchers from over 190 countries and territories have published their work with Scientific Reports, described as the world’s largest open access journal. Their research has been cited more than 6.65 million times, reflecting the journal’s ongoing role in providing a multidisciplinary platform that supports global progress toward open science.
Analysis of this one-million-author base indicates that articles published in the journal have been cited over 6.65 million times globally since 2014 and downloaded more than 1.7 billion times. Published content has contributed to scientific discussions, informed over 7,500 policy documents related to areas such as flood protection and carbon budgets, been cited in more than 21,500 patents, and included work from Nobel Prize laureates. The journal’s content is described as providing strong value for researchers and the broader public by contributing to efforts addressing societal challenges.
About 60% of citations originate from Europe, North America, and East Asia, indicating broad engagement across major research hubs. Articles published in the journal have averaged 24.2 citations. The largest share of the research output falls within biomedical and clinical sciences (49.5%), followed by biological sciences (13.7%) and engineering (10.4%).
The author community includes strong representation from the Global South, accounting for 42% of the one million authors. Lead authors are distributed across regions: 30% from Europe, 23% from China, 15% from East and Southeast Asia, 14% from the United States, and about 18% from other areas. Collectively, authors have published more than 250,000 papers, with Europe contributing over 70,000 of those publications since 2014.
The journal has communicated that reaching one million authors reflects sustained trust in Scientific Reports as an inclusive publishing venue focused on open access and open science. Additional insights highlight that supporting this number of authors reinforces commitments to improving the visibility and reach of multidisciplinary research.
Scientific Reports is part of the Nature Portfolio published by Springer Nature and publishes original research across natural sciences, psychology, medicine, and engineering. Its content has informed more than 6,600 policy documents from organizations such as the World Bank, WHO, CDC, and GOV.UK.
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