Nature Index 2026 Research Leaders

The Nature Index 2026 Research Leaders reveal the leading institutions and countries/territories in the natural sciences, health sciences, applied sciences and social sciences, according to their output in Nature Index journals in 2025.

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The dataset for the 2026 Research Leaders includes 125,385 primary research articles across seven subject areas.

The Nature Index now includes 178 publications from across applied, health, natural and social sciences.

The Nature Index now tracks 177 journals plus one conference, with 84% of them published outside Springer Nature.

Features and comment

Are China’s East Asian neighbours keeping pace with it?

10 June 2026

Benjamin Plackett

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Harvard loses first place in Nature Index

10 June 2026

Bec Crew

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Major changes to the Nature Index for 2026

10 June 2026

Simon Baker

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Tables

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
3183.55
3655.10
12822
2
Zhejiang University (ZJU), China
1040.62
1276.85
3213
3
Harvard University, United States of America (USA)
1251.70
1259.01
4246
4
Tsinghua University, China
1022.43
1213.59
4062
5
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China
948.29
1191.47
3301

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Leading Institutions

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Leading countries/territories

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Position
Country/territory
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
China
43075.34
52735.17
59472
2
United States of America (USA)
24957.74
26006.15
37995
3
Germany
5671.75
5827.33
12483
4
United Kingdom (UK)
4699.65
4819.70
11955
5
Japan
3570.16
3890.15
6869

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Sectors

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Zhejiang University (ZJU), China
1040.62
1276.85
3213
2
Harvard University, United States of America (USA)
1251.70
1259.01
4246
3
Tsinghua University, China
1022.43
1213.59
4062
4
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China
948.29
1191.47
3301
5
University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China
939.75
1128.58
3763

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Leading academic institutions

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Leading corporate institutions

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Roche, Switzerland
67.48
68.65
198
2
State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), China
55.19
60.50
294
3
AstraZeneca, United Kingdom (UK)
52.63
53.21
173
4
Sinopec, China
35.75
43.55
275
5
Alphabet, United States of America (USA)
44.73
41.64
112

View full table >

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
3183.55
3655.10
12822
2
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
674.65
701.98
5212
3
National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States of America (USA)
440.94
438.21
1298
4
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain
253.99
277.57
1938
5
People's Liberation Army (PLA), China
205.58
273.67
1245

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Leading government institutions

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Leading healthcare institutions

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), United States of America (USA)
177.44
182.85
1108
2
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern Medical Center), United States of America (USA)
159.68
180.56
561
3
Mayo Clinic, United States of America (USA)
157.56
171.14
586
4
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), United States of America (USA)
174.56
169.73
1039
5
West China School of Medicine/West China Hospital of Sichuan University (WCSM/WCH), SCU, China
103.51
156.95
457

View full table >

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Max Planck Society, Germany
780.44
764.09
3218
2
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Germany
663.32
682.00
3406
3
Leibniz Association, Germany
219.83
267.33
1608
4
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), China
234.23
267.12
772
5
Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Russia
181.01
188.91
566

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Leading NPO/NGO institutions

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Subject areas

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
398.20
472.48
1551
2
Harvard University, United States of America (USA)
222.53
195.76
656
3
Max Planck Society, Germany
160.15
168.59
625
4
Zhejiang University (ZJU), China
129.75
129.36
347
5
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China
106.04
128.93
711

View full table >

Leading institutions in biological sciences

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Leading institutions in chemistry

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
782.01
944.80
3177
2
University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China
332.01
360.32
1017
3
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China
206.76
272.82
1149
4
Sichuan University (SCU), China
194.45
270.37
403
5
Nanjing University (NJU), China
225.18
257.18
592

View full table >

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
355.30
419.03
1452
2
China Meteorological Administration (CMA), China
69.85
120.72
391
3
Nanjing University (NJU), China
89.81
119.97
384
4
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Germany
99.77
110.17
394
5
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China
92.93
106.87
571

View full table >

Leading institutions in Earth & environmental sciences

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Leading institutions in health sciences

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

View table
Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Harvard University, United States of America (USA)
716.76
684.81
2223
2
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
322.29
361.98
1512
3
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China
254.27
283.43
819
4
National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States of America (USA)
283.71
273.88
868
5
Zhejiang University (ZJU), China
215.79
272.20
642

View full table >

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
372.02
399.32
1613
2
Max Planck Society, Germany
198.28
211.07
956
3
University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China
168.65
199.74
816
4
National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Italy
165.66
171.28
818
5
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
163.06
169.69
1302

View full table >

Leading institutions in physical sciences

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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Leading institutions in applied sciences

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

View table
Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
922.34
1028.62
3403
2
Tsinghua University, China
437.20
549.04
1516
3
Zhejiang University (ZJU), China
372.82
473.84
1058
4
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China
335.94
442.66
1079
5
Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU), China
318.39
394.77
736

View full table >

Position
Institution
Share 2024
Share 2025
Count 2025
1
Harvard University, United States of America (USA)
55.00
68.61
193
2
Stanford University, United States of America (USA)
43.61
52.04
137
3
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), United States of America (USA)
40.58
49.30
208
4
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), United States of America (USA)
33.11
44.88
115
5
Tsinghua University, China
28.92
44.58
112

View full table >

Leading institutions in social sciences

The 2026 Research Leaders are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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