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Nature Index 2015 Global

Nature volume 522, page S1 (2015)Cite this article

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We have grouped countries into nine regions. The strongest performances come, not surprisingly, from North America, North & West Europe, and East & Southeast Asia. In fact, these three regions accounted for 91% of the Index's weighted fractional count (WFC), a metric that apportions credit for each article according to the affiliations of the contributing authors.

Papers from across the natural science disciplines contribute to the Nature Index: chemistry, life sciences and physical sciences each represent about one-third of the total, with earth and environmental sciences accounting for less than 10% (due to the interdisciplinary character of research, some articles count in more than one category; as a result, the total adds up to more than 100%). As the Global Overview (page S2) shows, there are some striking differences in strengths between regions. For example, North American institutions (page S4) as a group are strong contributors in the life sciences. By contrast, almost 90% of the contribution from Central & South Asia comes in chemistry or the physical sciences.

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  1. Guest Editor,

    Mike May

  2. Supplements Editor,

    Herb Brody

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  1. Mike May
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  2. Herb Brody
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May, M., Brody, H. Nature Index 2015 Global. Nature 522, S1 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/522S1a

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