Poorer countries ‘outperform wealthy ones on open access’

Researchers from less well-off regions make more of their work open, study suggests

Academics in poorer parts of the world are outpacing their colleagues in rich nations when it comes to making their papers free to read, according to a global study of open access.

The push to make the outputs of academic research free to read has accelerated dramatically in recent years, with pressure from academics and funding agencies only growing as the Covid-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the need for researchers to access information.