Africa's Research Output Dominated By Three Nations, According to Thomson Reuters Study

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Apr 12, 2010, 12:01 ET

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- A study from Thomson Reuters released today shows South Africa is the outstanding research leader on the African continent. It has by far the greatest research output of any country, well ahead of Egypt in second place and Nigeria in third.

The study, Global Research Report: Africa, found a relatively high representation of African research -- as a share of world publications -- in fields that are relevant to natural resources. South Africa's 1.55 percent share of research in Plant & Animal Science is the continent's biggest share in any field. This output surpasses Russia's 1.17 percent but is well behind China's 5.42 percent share in the same field.

"Africa's overall volume of activity remains small, much smaller than is desirable if the potential contribution of its researchers is to be realized for the benefit of its populations," said Jonathan Adams, director, research evaluation at Thomson Reuters. "The resources available in some African countries are substantial, but they are not being invested in the research base."

Other key findings include:

Despite Nigeria's high-volume output, it is not producing as much research as would be expected given the size of its economy.
There is a marked interaction between researchers in the countries in North Africa which share both language and culture.
Nigeria's global reach is marked by its research collaboration with China. It also is well-positioned to extend its links westward and partner with the emerging Brazilian research base.
The African continent's historical ties to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, ensure a high level of external input and links to European research programs. At the same time, new links to Saudi Arabia and Japan provide the opportunity for participation in emerging networks in those countries.

The study is part of the Global Research Report series from Thomson Reuters that illustrates the changing landscape and dynamics of scientific research around the world. These studies draw on data found in Web of Science, available on the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge(SM) platform -- the world's largest citation environment of the highest quality scholarly literature.

For more information, please visit http://researchanalytics.thomsonreuters.com/grr/.

Thomson Reuters will exhibit at the INORMS Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, April 11– 15, 2010.

Thomson Reuters

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