Research and innovation data

To access the latest Research and Innovation data, this page acts as your one-stop hub for comprehensive information on research and innovation in UK HE.

This page includes the most up-to-date figures on:

International publication rates and the quality and impact of UK research
The top collaborative partners in UK HE publications
Sources of research funding
The top areas of international collaboration by subject

The data is drawn from SciVal and HESA Financial data 2022–23. SciVal data updates continuously and so the data presented here is a snapshot of 2023 data ending December 2023 and accessed on 21 June. This page will next be updated in December 2024.

Key facts:

In 2023, the top three countries by publication output were China, the United States and India.
Among the top ten countries by publication output, the UK has the largest proportion of internationally co-authored publications, at 60.9% in 2023.
In 2023, 15.7% of the UK’s publications were in the top 10% of the world’s most cited publications.
The UK received 8.4% of the world’s citations.

How does the UK publication rate compare internationally?

Publication output:

In 2023, the top three countries for publication output were China, the United States and India. China has held the top spot in publication output since overtaking the US in 2020. From 2022 to 2023, China’s output grew by 2.9%. India showed the most significant growth in publication output, with an 11.3% increase in the same period, maintaining its position in the top three for international publications. The UK’s publication output decreased by 0.6% from 2022 to 2023, continuing a downward trend since peaking in 2021. The UK remains in fourth place following its drop from third place in 2021.

Between 2022 and 2023, China and India were the only countries in the top 10 to see an increase in publication output. Spain’s output stayed the same, with no increase or decrease. The other seven countries in the top 10 all saw a decrease in publication output, continuing a trend that began in 2021. Japan and France had the largest drops in publication output, decreasing by 6.0% and 4.1%, respectively.

Within the top 20 countries by publication output there have been several notable developments. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India have shown the most significant increases in publication output from 2013 to 2023. From 2022 to 2023, Saudi Arabia’s output grew by 6.3%. Over the past five years (2018 to 2023), Saudi Arabia’s publications increased by 160.1%, and over the past ten years (2013 to 2023), they grew by 307.6%. Egypt’s publications grew by 90.1% from 2018 to 2023 and by 187% from 2013 to 2023. India’s publications increased by 75.2% from 2018 to 2023 and by 168.9% from 2013 to 2023.

International co-authorship:

Among the top ten producers of publication output in 2023, the UK had the highest proportion of total publications with an international co-author, at 60.9%, up by 0.4% from 2022. Across the top ten producers of publication output, the proportion of internationally co-authored publications has increased over the past five and ten years, with the UK, France and Canada seeing the largest growth. The UK’s proportion of publications with an international co-author grew by 9% over five years and by 18.7% over ten years. France and Canada currently have international collaboration levels of 58.4% and 56.9%, respectively, with both countries consistently increasing their proportions by 11.2% and 12.6%, respectively, from 2013 to 2023.

In 2023, the international collaboration rankings almost invert the publication output table: China ranks tenth with 18.8%, India is ninth with 23.4% and the United States is seventh with 37.1%. China and the United States are the only two countries in the top ten for publication output where international collaboration has decreased since 2022, by –0.2% and –0.4%, respectively. Over the past ten years, China has seen the smallest growth in international collaboration, at 2.2%.

Top 10 countries by publication output (all publication types) in 2023:

China (1,072,732)
United States (731,679)
India (316,682)
United Kingdom (243,406)
Germany (203,299)
Italy (158,896)
Japan (137,536)
Canada (130,808)
Spain (124,818)
France (124,606)

Proportion of publications that have an international co-author in 2023 in the top 10 countries by publication output:

United Kingdom (60.9%)
France (58.4%)
Canada (56.9%)
Germany (53.1%)
Spain (50.2%)
Italy (47.3%)
United States of America (36.8%)
Japan (31.6%)
India (23.2%)
China (18.6%)

What is the quality of UK research?

The UK is consistently contributing well above its weight and has a particularly high quality and impact from the research it undertook.

Between 2018 and 23, 3.7% of the world’s publications had an author from the UK, with the UK population representing only 0.8% of the world’s population. In 2023 the UK produced 5.9% of the world’s publications and received 8.4% of the world’s citations. In 2023, 15.7 % of the UK’s publications were in the top 10% of the world’s most cited publications.

Total expenditure on research and development was £66.2 billion, equivalent to 2.9% of GDP. Of the 157 higher education institutions which made submissions to the REF 2021, 84.0% were considered world-leading or internationally excellent and 87.2% had a world-leading or internationally excellent impact.

What are the sources of UK research funding?

International collaboration and funding are crucial for advancing research and innovation and the breakdown of the data shows the importance of international partnerships. In 2022–23, 20.6% of UK research funding came from international sources, a slight reduction from 2021–22. Funding from outside the EU continues to increase. In 2018–19, it made up 36.5% of international funding to the UK, and by 2022–23, non-EU funding made up 48.6% of international funding. Funding from the EU still forms just over half of the UK’s international funding (51.4%), due to projects funded through the last Framework Programme, Horizon 2020, and the fact that Horizon Europe projects won between 2021 and 2023 are funded via the UKRI guarantee.

Essential for expanding research initiatives, international industry investment in UK university research and innovation grew by 6.1% in 2022–23 compared with 2020–21 and has once again reached the level of investment present in 2019–20, following a period of decline. In the five years between 2018–19 and 2022–23, industry funding from outside the EU grew, increasing by 22%, while industry funding from the EU decreased by –5.7% during the same period.

Who are the UK’s primary partners for co-authored publications?

Between 2018 and 2023, the countries with the highest number of publications co-authored with the UK were the United States, China and Germany.

The US is the UK’s largest partner for collaborative publications by a significant margin. Between 2018 and 2023, 230,166 UK publications had a US co-author. The number of UK publications with a co-author from the USA increased by 15.5% during this period. However, India, China and South Africa showed the largest growth in the number of publications produced in collaboration with the UK, increasing by 103.7%, 58.8% and 51.4%, respectively.

In proportion to their publication output, the percentage of UK co-authorship among the top 20 collaborators between 2018 and 2023 was highest with Norway, Canada and France. These countries experienced growth in co-authored publications, increasing by 27.1%, 32.9% and 11%, respectively. Their proportion of co-authored publications with the UK was 9.8%, 9.2% and 9.2%, respectively.

European countries make up 12 of the UK’s top 20 partners for publications that have an international co-author, while three come from the Global South. Europe also has the highest number of co-authored publications with the UK, while South America has the lowest.

Top ten UK collaborative partners, number of co-authored publications from 2018 to 2023:

United States (230,166)
China (126,540)
Germany (119,466)
Italy (91,629)
Australia (86,353)
France (82,248)
Netherlands (71,795)
Spain (69,292)
Canada (65,310)
Switzerland (53,601)

What countries are the UK’s main partners for co-authored publications in each part of the world?

The growing importance of African research partners is shown by the substantial rise in the number publications from the region co-authored with the UK. Between 2018 and 2023, the percentage of co-authored publications from South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria saw the three largest increases in collaborative publications with the UK within the region. However, South Africa remains the UK’s main partner in terms of the number of co-authored publications, with 23,454 co-authored publications. Ghana and Nigeria exhibited the most significant growth, increasing by 111.5% and 137.5%, respectively.

Publication collaboration with Asia remains strong. China continues to be the UK’s main partner for co-authored publications in the region, reaching 126,540 publications between 2018 and 2023. Meanwhile, India’s growth in the number of co-authored publications during this period was particularly notable, increasing by 103.7% and overtaking Japan as the second largest source of Asian co-authored publications.

In the Australasia region, Australia continues to be UK’s main partner for co-authored publications, which numbered 86,353 between 2018 and 2023, increasing by 23.7% during this period.

European countries make up 12 of the top 20 international contributors to publication co-authorship with the UK. The top three countries – Germany, Italy and France – each contribute a sizable number of publications and have presented continuous growth in the number of publications they co-author with the UK between 2018 and 23, growing by 18.1%, 25.6% and 11%, respectively. In proportion to their overall publications, the Netherlands has the largest proportion of publications with UK co-authorship, at 16.6%.

The primary research partner in the Middle East was Saudi Arabia, co-authoring 16,820 publications with the UK. Between 2018 and 2023 Saudi Arabia experienced significant growth in the number of collaborations, which increased by 126.3%. However, collaborations with the UAE increased the most, growing by 152.5% between 2018 and 2023.

The UK has long-standing research relationships in North America, and the number of co-authored publications continues to grow across the US, Canada and Mexico, increasing by 15.5%, 32.9% and 43.4%, respectively, between 2018 and 2023. Publication collaboration with Panama increased significantly between 2018 and 2023, the number of publications growing by 59.6%. The US remains the UK’s top collaborative partner for co-authoring publications, with 230,166 co-authored publications between 2018 and 2023. 

Publication collaboration between the UK and South America grew between 2018 and 2023 with Brazil and Chile generating the largest number of publications co-authored with the UK in the region, with 30,031 and 11,749 co-authored publications respectively. Peru saw the largest growth, with the number of publications co-authored with the UK increasing by 102.5% between 2018 and 2023. Argentina has the largest proportion of UK collaboration, with 66.2% of its publications having a UK collaborator. This is significantly larger than the other four top five publication collaborators from South America.

What are the UK’s top subject areas for international co-authorship?

International co-authorship is rapidly expanding, driving partnerships between institutions across all subject areas. Currently the areas that have the highest share of international co-authorship are STEM led subjects. Many such collaborations benefit from interdisciplinary collaborations with academics from other areas, including Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS). In 2023, earth and planetary sciences had the largest share of internationally co-authored publications at 78.6%. This was followed by multidisciplinary research at 75.8% and pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutics at 75.2%.

Among the top ten subject areas for internationally co-authored publications, research into energy and pharmacology have seen the greatest growth. Collaboration in these fields increased by 10.6% and 12.5%, respectively, over the last five years and by 26.2% and 23.4% over the last ten years.

Between 2018 and 2023, psychology experienced the largest growth in proportion of international co-authorship, rising from 39.1% to 54%, a growth of 14.9%.

Between 2013 and 2023, energy research and business management and accounting saw the largest percentage growth, increasing by 26.2% and 26.1%, respectively.

Top ten subject areas by percentage share of internationally co-authored publications in 2023:

Earth and planetary sciences (78.6%)
Multidisciplinary (75.8%)
Pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutics (75.2%)
Agricultural and biological sciences (74%)
Immunology and microbiology (74%)
Physics and astronomy (73.8%)
Environmental science (73.3%)
Energy (73.1%)
Materials science (72.3%)
Chemistry (72.1%)

Glossary:

SciVal – SciVal is a research information tool that offers easy access to the research performance of 7,500 research institutions and 220 nations worldwide. Produced by Elsevier it uses bibliometric information from the Scopus database from 1996 onwards.

HESA – Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Horizon 2020 was the European Union’s research and innovation funding programme for the period 2014–2020.

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s key funding programme for research and innovation for the period 2021–2027. 

Internationally co-authored publication – a publication on which a UK researcher has collaborated with at least one overseas institution.

HASS – Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Notes on the data:

SciVal is a continuously updating source of data, the key metrics can change on a weekly basis therefore this page does periodic updates.

In accordance with HESA’s Standard Rounding Methodology: 

Data has been rounded to the nearest 5  
Any number lower than 2.5 has been rounded to 0  
Percentages have been supressed where totals are less than 25