Bridging the great divide
How global scholarly research reflects inequality – but also increased interconnection
From Clarivate
A historic milestone for Africa and the G20
Africa will make history in 2025 by hosting the G20 summit for the first time. With the recent inclusion of both the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), the G20 now represents 80% of the world’s population, 85% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and nearly 90% of published research papers.1
As leaders gather to address and tackle some of humanity’s most pressing challenges in an increasingly volatile world, they must also confront the stark inequalities and disparities present within their own ranks, particularly when it comes to access to R&D funding streams.
Each year, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)2 releases a G20 scorecard that evaluates the research and innovation capabilities of the G20 economies, known for their significant investments in education, research and technology. The 2024 dataset3 provides insights into all G20 members and helps us understand the vast economic disparities between developing nations in the Global South and developed nations in the Global North.
This data also highlights an important trend – the growing interconnection and collaboration within the global research ecosystem. No person is an island; similarly, no individual research community is either.
The Great Divide: research disparities among G20 nations
Key findings from ISI’s G20 scorecard
The ISI G20 scorecard provides a comprehensive comparison of research investment and output across G20 nations. Some of the most striking findings include:
- Population vs. GDP per capita: While the AU has the largest population among G20 members, it has the lowest GDP per capita, highlighting the economic disparities that affect research investment.
- Research and development (R&D) expenditure: Among the official G20 country data available, South Africa appears to have one of the group’s lowest rates of Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development.
- Female researchers: Encouragingly, Argentina, South Africa and Russia have the highest percentage of female researchers among the G20 nations, a welcome statistic given the lack of female representation within the research community.
- Research output: Despite being only the fourth largest G20 nation by population, the EU is the most significant contributor of research output with 5.2 million papers between 2014 and 2023.
- Citation impact: Despite vastly different research economies, the EU and AU have comparable citation impact for their research overall, as measured by Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI).
- Top 10% research papers by citations: It is useful to note that top 3 regions in terms of volume of papers: European Union (5.2million), China, Mainland (4.8million) and United States (4.5million) are ranked very differently when it comes to CNCI, where the European Union ranks 12th with CNCI of 1.04, China ranks 10th with CNCI of 1.07 and the United States ranks 6th rank with CNCI of 1.24).
The countries that are producing the most impactful research are not necessarily the ones producing the highest volume of papers:
- UK (CNCI of 1.39 but 4th rank in terms of volume of papers with 1.4m papers)
- Australia (CNCI of 1.38, 11th rank for volume of papers with 767k papers)
- Saudi Arabia (CNCI of 1.37, 17th rank with 252k papers)
These figures emphasise how resource availability, research policies, and investment strategies shape the scientific capabilities and influence of different G20 nations.
The power of interconnection: how collaboration shapes research impact
A global shift toward research collaboration
A February 2025 report from the ISI, ‘Unlocking the Efficiency of International Research Collaboration,’4 highlights an important shift within the global research ecosystem – the rise of international research collaboration and its positive implications for individual nations.
- In 1990, fewer than 10% of research papers from the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA) involved international collaboration.
- By 2024, this figure has now risen to 50%, reflecting a global shift toward shared research efforts.
Before the 1980s, most research collaborations were essentially a national endeavor within the same country. However, from the 1990s and onwards, a significant increase in international collaborations occurred, beginning with bilateral research and expanding to multilateral research initiatives, involving multiple nations.
Why international collaboration matters
Today, the most innovative and impactful research is often the result of cross-border cooperation, driven by leading institutions worldwide. Over the past two decades, bibliometric studies have consistently shown that research papers with multiple authors attract more citations. Furthermore, there is evidence that multinational research collaborations tend to achieve even greater impact than bilateral projects.
For example, as seen in the figure below, CNCI of UK’s papers rises with increasing numbers of collaborating countries, and then plateaus. Average CNCI is erratic for papers with more than 20 collaborating countries. Data from Adams and Gurney (2018).
Several factors contribute to this trend:
- Wider appeal: Multinational research studies often address global challenges, making their findings relevant to a broader audience. National research focuses more on local areas of interest and attracts less attention from a broader, international audience.
- Network effects: Researchers from different countries can publicize and disseminate their work through multiple academic and professional networks, increasing visibility of their papers and promoting knowledge sharing to a wider audience.
- Diverse expertise: Collaborating across borders brings together varied perspectives, enhancing innovation and high-quality research standards globally.
The implication for research policy is that domestic policies are becoming less impactful. Increasing collaboration boosts citation impact, even among countries with vastly different R&D approaches. Data indicates that research impact, measured by CNCI, consistently rises with higher collaboration rates.
Collaboration in action: case study of Kenya vs. China
A striking example of the positive impact of collaboration can be demonstrated in a comparison of China and Kenya’s research metrics. While China vastly outspends Kenya in R&D and produces significantly more research papers, Kenya’s citation impact (CNCI) is higher. This is largely due to Kenya’s high level of international collaboration, which amplifies the reach and influence of its research. This is an interesting example of how collaboration can drive research impact and how it allows a country with a far smaller research economy to have a larger research impact than that of a larger one.
It should be noted that the authors of the ISI report state that a strong domestic research output is foundational to a healthy research ecosystem within a country. Thus, a range of metrics and analyses is needed to fully understand the overall health of a nation’s research portfolio. However, this example does show the power of collaboration in research, and the opportunity it presents to smaller developing nations with limited resources.
The future of research: balancing national investment and global cooperation
Scientific research is increasingly shaped by the interconnectivity between national policies and global partnerships. While national investment remains the foundation of a healthy research ecosystem, international collaboration is proving to be an essential driver of research excellence. National policymakers and research organizations must navigate this evolving landscape carefully, with responsible use of data and metrics to support decision-making. Harnessing the power of international collaboration while strengthening national research capabilities is key to maximizing research impact.
As many in the research ecosystem grapple with an increasing global divide between R&D opportunities across nations, the increasingly collaborative nature of research also offers a parallel story of hope. It reveals the power of global partnerships in driving innovation and the demonstrable impact that can be made by groups of researchers that work together across borders, boundaries and disciplines towards common goals: shared knowledge, collective progress, and the potential for all nations to contribute meaningfully to global innovation.
1. clarivate.com/academia-government/lp/the-annual-g20-scorecard-2024/
2. clarivate.com/academia-government/the-institute-for-scientific-information/
3. clarivate.com/academia-government/the-institute-for-scientific-information/2024-g20-scorecard/
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