The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has once again been recognized for its contributions to global scientific research, maintaining a leading position in the Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders rankings, released on June 11. This marks the 13th consecutive year that CAS has held a top position in the index.

Based on data from January 1 to December 31, 2024, CAS sustained its global leadership in high-quality research output across the natural and health sciences.

CAS continues to rank first globally in chemistry, physical sciences, and Earth & environmental sciences, while holding the No. 2 global position in the life sciences field. The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) exhibited commendable performances, achieving third and sixth positions in the global rankings, respectively.

Several other Chinese institutions also performed well in the rankings. Zhejiang University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University secured places in the global top ten.

The 2024 rankings identified China, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, South Korea, Canada, India, and Switzerland as the top ten countries for high-quality scientific output. China’s contribution exhibited a 17% increase compared to the year 2023—the highest growth rate among the top 20 countries.

The Nature Index tracks research articles published in 145 high-quality journals across the natural and health sciences. It measures performance using two main metrics: article count and fractional count (contribution share), based on institutional affiliations and author contributions.