How many academic articles are published each year?
It is estimated that at least 64 million academic papers have been published since the year 1996, with the growth rate of newly published articles increasing over time.
As of 2022, over 5.14 million academic articles are published per year, including short surveys, reviews, and conference proceedings.
The number of published articles had increased by 2.06% since 2021, when over 5.03 million papers were published.
Since 2018, the number of articles published by year jumped by 22.78%, starting from 4.18 million.
The growth in published documents was exceptionally high during 2021, when 7.62% more articles were published compared to the previous year.
Year
Articles published (in millions)
Growth
2022
5.14
2.06%
2021
5.03
7.62%
2020
4.68
5.50%
2019
4.43
5.95%
2018
4.18
5-year growth
22.78%
What country publishes the most academic articles?
Since 2022, China has been the country with the most academic articles published in a year, and the first country to publish over 1 million documents during a year.
Over 19.67% of all academic papers published in a year come from China as of 2022.
The United States lost the leading position when it comes to the number of published articles, now accounting for 17.04% of all published papers in a year.
These two countries, along with India and the United Kingdom, accounted for over 52% of all academic papers over the past year.
Top 10 producers of academic papers account for over 87% of all published articles over the past year.
Country
Number of academic papers published
Global share
China
1,009,891
19.67%
United States
702,840
17.04%
India
275,367
8.05%
United Kingdom
236,145
7.50%
Germany
203,406
6.99%
Italy
152,881
5.65%
Japan
140,493
5.50%
Canada
130,678
5.41%
Australia
124,503
5.45%
France
123,837
5.74%
How many academic journals are there?
As of 2020, there are 46,736 academic journals publishing papers worldwide, 1.07% more compared to 2019.
It is also the seventh year in a row with over 40,000 active academic journals.
Over the last 10 years, the number of academic journals has grown by 28.7%, growing at an average rate of 2.56% every year.
However, the growth rate of academic journals has slowed down over the last decade after growing by 3.65% annually from 2002 to 2011.
For the first time, there were over 100 published articles per academic journal during the year. This happened in 2020.
Year
Number of academic journals
Growth
2020
46,736
1.07%
2019
46,241
1.54%
2018
45,538
1.92%
2017
44,680
2.65%
2016
43,528
2.92%
2015
42,295
3.48%
2014
40,871
3.65%
2013
39,432
4.25%
2012
37,824
4.21%
2011
36,296
4.27%
2010
34,809
4.85%
2009
33,198
4.47%
2008
31,778
4.45%
2007
30,425
4.16%
2006
29,209
3.73%
2005
28,158
3.64%
2004
27,170
3.78%
2003
26,180
3.28%
2002
25,349
3.25%
2001
24,552
75.04% of all academic journals are published in the English language. There were 35,070 English-language journals published in 2020.
The number of English-language journals has been growing by 3.22% per year, on average, over the last 10 years.
On the other hand, the number of non-English journals declined during 2020 by 0.42% compared to the previous year.
The growth of non-English language journals over the past 10 years stands at 2.33% annually, much slower compared to English language journals.
Year
English language journals
Growth
Non-English language journals
Growth
2020
35,070
1.58%
11,666
-0.42%
2019
34,526
1.94%
11,715
0.40%
2018
33,870
2.03%
11,668
1.61%
2017
33,197
3.12%
11,483
1.31%
2016
32,193
3.07%
11,335
2.48%
2015
31,234
3.49%
11,061
3.47%
2014
30,181
3.90%
10,690
2.94%
2013
29,047
4.56%
10,385
3.40%
2012
27,780
4.18%
10,044
4.30%
2011
26,666
4.41%
9,630
3.88%
2010
25,539
9,270
Which country publishes the most academic journals?
Over 5,856 academic journals are published annually in the United Kingdom, as of 2020.
The UK is the world’s largest producer of academic journals, accounting for over 12.53% of the global production.
The United States publishes around 5,712 academic journals, accounting for 12.22% of the global production.
The Netherlands (1,372) and Germany (1,339) are the only remaining countries that publish over 1,000 academic journals annually.
Even though China publishes the most academic papers in the world, the country accounts for only 1.36% of the journals published per year.
