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Danish research has a high level of scientific impact

Denmark ranks high internationally for scientific impact measured by citation, according to a new report. The Minister for Higher Education and Science is pleased with the results and looks forward to Denmark reaching even greater heights.

Danish research is some of the most cited among OECD countries, according to this year's Research Barometer, which examines Danish research from an international perspective.

Denmark ranks among the top 5 OECD countries for scientific impact of publications during the period 2012-2016. And Denmark is ranked first within the 10 per cent most cited publications. A fifth of Danish publications appear among the 10 per cent most cited, which is the highest share among all OECD countries, only matched by Switzerland.

Minister for Higher Education and Science Søren Pind is pleased with Denmark's ranking. He has an ambition to see Denmark among the global elite as a research nation, and looks forward to Danish research improving even more.

- For many years we have characterised ourselves as one of the strongest countries in the world when it comes to scientific breakthroughs. And Danish researchers are – as the report shows – some of the most cited in the world. But we cannot ignore the fact that international competition is tough. So if Denmark as a research nation is to join the global elite, we have to be even better than we are today, and continue to improve, says Søren Pind.

The Government has therefore recently launched a political research and innovation strategy, outlining ambitious objectives for future research and innovation. For example, the Government wants to establish a Nobel Pact, distribute research funding to universities with a greater focus on quality, and create better career opportunities for young researchers.

The Minister for Higher Education and Science noticed that according to the Research Barometer, Denmark ranks highly for publication in prestigious international scientific publications 'Nature' and 'Science'. Measured per capita, Denmark ranks third for both publications, only surpassed by Iceland and Switzerland.

- Denmark's attractive ranking within the two prestigious publications testifies to very high level of Danish research, and we should be proud of that, says Søren Pind.

The Research Barometer 2017 also shows that Denmark generally has a high level of impact across the six main fields – natural sciences, technical sciences, health sciences, agriculture and veterinary sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Danish publications had the greatest impacts within the humanities, but also ranked highly among social sciences compared to other OECD countries.

Main results the Research Barometer 2017

  • Total Danish research and development investments – based on the research carried out – totalled almost DKK 60 billion in 2015, which corresponds to 2.96 per cent of GDP. • Researcher education is given a high priority in Denmark. In 2015, Denmark awarded 375 PhDs (per 1 million people), leaving Denmark ranked fifth among all OECD countries that year.
  • Danish research productivity, measured by the number of scientific publications (per million people) is high. During the period 2012-2016, there were 19,755 scientific publications (per million people) in Denmark, which was the third highest among OECD countries during that period, only surpassed by Switzerland and Iceland.
  • Danish research generally has a high level of scientific impact (citations per publication). Denmark ranks among the top 5 OECD countries for scientific impact of publications during the period 2012-2016. The total Danish scientific impact for this period is on par with Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Measured on the share of the 10 per cent most cited publications, Denmark and Switzerland share the top ranking with 19.8 per cent of the countries' publications among the 10 per cent most cited – which is the highest of any OECD country.
  • Danish research is largely based on international co-publication - almost 60 per cent of all Danish scientific publications are international co-publications, which is among the top 10 of OECD countries. Denmark has the highest publication level of any OECD country with regards to co-publications between higher education institutions and the business community.
  • Denmark is among the top EU countries for successfully receiving the most funding from the EU framework programme Horizon 2020 measured per capita. This is particularly true within the sub-category of ”Energy”.

For further information please contact;

Press Officer Trine Søndergaard, tri@ufm.dk , tel. +45 72 31 80 09