UK researchers ‘losing ground’ to China and India, data show

Elsevier data reveal decrease in UK publication and citation shares—but international collaboration is increasing

The UK is “losing ground” in research to China and India—raising questions about its ambition to become a science and technology superpower, according to an analysis from Elsevier.

Data presented by the publisher at a joint conference with the Higher Education Policy Institute this week show that UK publications made up 6.1 per cent of the world total in 2022, down from 6.3 per cent in 2020. This meant it was surpassed by India for publication share, while China surpassed the EU.