We introduce new data and insights to measure the global research and innovation performance of member countries and regions ahead of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This guide explores how our online interactive scorecard offers dynamic visualizations and insights into global trends.
Each year, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)™ at Clarivate™ releases its annual G20 scorecard to offer insights into the broad contributions of the research and innovation capabilities of each member. This year’s edition marks a significant milestone with the inclusion of data for both the original 20th member, the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), which was granted full member status in September 2023.
The EU, as a major economic and research hub, is an important inclusion, and the addition of the AU reflects the expanding representation of the G20. By incorporating these two significant unions, we present a more inclusive and comprehensive scorecard, acknowledging the unique challenges and achievements of these regions and ensuring their substantial contributions to the global research landscape are accurately represented.
At the ISI we continue to promote responsible and meaningful assessment of research performance through the use of advanced metrics and indicators. This year we introduce a new indicator to our scorecard to measure the number of citations each research paper receives from related patents, with the total normalized against the average number of citations received by all papers published in the same year. We have also expanded on prior years’ analysis to include new data on the collaborative and accessible nature of research focused on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Exploring the data
The G20 scorecard arranges the data into seven key categories, with a dropdown filter to allow you to explore in depth:
- Figure 1: Context – Dive into our interactive figures to gain a deeper insight into the diverse nature of the G20 economies.
- Figure 2: Impact – Understand the citation impact of G20 research and how it reflects both academic influence and real-world applicability. The key indicators for this are the Category Normalized Citation Impact™ (CNCI), Collaborative CNCI (Collab CNCI) and new this year, Normalized Patent Citation Impact™. This newly introduced metric assesses the real-world impact of research by examining citations in patents.
- Figure 3: Output – Examine the detailed trends in international collaboration and the rise of open access research. The figure includes the trend in overall, international and open access output over the period 2014 to 2023 for each member of the G20.
- Figure 4: Disciplines – Explore these Research Footprints to gain insights into the disciplinary focus and impact of G20 members on the global research stage. This includes the output and impact of each G20 member by discipline together with the trends from 2014 to 2023.
- Figure 5: SDGs – See how G20 countries advance research towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribute to solving the world’s most pressing issues. This figure features data on the collaborative and accessible nature of research related to the SDGs and charts the impact and output of each country/region by SDG from 2014 to 2023.
- Figure 6: Collaborators – New this year, we provide data points to give insights on the dynamic nature of international research collaboration and see who is partnering with whom across the G20 nations/regions.
- Figure 7: Collaborative Impact – Explore this final figure, another new addition to this year’s scorecard, to understand the nuanced impact of international collaborations on research citation and to see how each G20 member’s collaborative efforts are shaping their research influence globally.
Unveiling insights: significant findings from the 2024 G20 scorecard
The G20 scorecard reveals unique stories hidden within the data. Here’s a glimpse into some of the key findings from the 2024 edition:
- The African Union (AU) has a high collaboration rate. Collaborations with Mainland China yield higher citation impact than those with the U.S., their leading partner. The AU’s SDG priorities are No Poverty (SDG 1) and Gender Equality (SDG 5).
- The European Union is the largest contributor of papers than any other G20 member. 40% of collaboration is with external partners compared to 10% within the EU. It publishes more open access papers than the G20 average.
- Germany has a high number of researchers per capita. It exhibits above world average Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI) for collaborative papers and its Normalized Patent Citation Impact is around twice the world average in medicine. More than 60% of papers produced in 2023 were published via open access.
- India has seen international collaboration increase to just over one-third (35.6%) over a decade (2014 to 2023), with the U.S. its leading collaborator. Its SDG research focuses on Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Industry (SDG 9).
- Mainland China’s international collaborations are mostly bilateral (around three-quarters). Its most frequent partner remains the U.S., although the percentage has halved over a decade (2014 – 2023) from 12% to 6%. Its Normalized Patent Citation Impact is above the world average.
- South Korea’s collaborations with the U.S. have fallen, while those with Mainland China and India are rising. It also shows high Normalized Patent Citation Impact in Good Health (SDG 3) and Sustainable Cities (SDG 11).
- United Kingdom’s research output has a high citation impact with CNCI at 1.4 times world average. Collaboration rose from below 60% in 2015 to over 70% since 2022, with leading partners in the U.S., Germany and increasingly, Mainland China. Its Normalized Patent Citation Impact is strong in engineering and technology, medicine and life sciences.
- United States exhibits high Normalized Patent Citation Impact in engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine. There is a strong focus on Peace & Justice (SDG 16) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10) in terms of paper output and a strong focus on Good Health (SDG 3) and Clean Energy (SDG 7) in terms of citation impact from patents.
Advancing responsible research assessment
The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) promotes responsible and meaningful assessment of research by considering comprehensive profiles and indicators that capture the broad contributions in terms of quality and impact. The annual G20 report exemplifies this approach by evaluating the research and innovation outputs of each G20 member.
The interactive format enhances accessibility and enables rapid comparative analyses, while a downloadable executive summary highlights key findings for 2024.
We invite you to explore the dynamic online content for a richer experience, featuring interactive visualizations and detailed analyses of each G20 member’s research performance here.
The G20 scorecard is part of a series of Global Research Reports, all freely available for download. Check out our other ISI reports, or contact our team to find out how we can help evaluate research at your organization.
*Note: The members of the G20 include: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mainland China (includes data from Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR), France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Türkiye, the African Union, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. The African Union, previously an invited organization, was granted full member status in Delhi, September 2023.
