The World's Best Countries in Science [Preview]

By The Editors

 

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Image: Graphic by Arno Ghelfi; SOURCES: DIGITAL SCIENCE (research papers); U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (patents); OECD SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD, 2011 (R&D and doctorates)

What makes one country better than another in science? It's not an easy thing to measure. Publishing research papers is a good way to get a bead on basic research, but it doesn't say much about whether a nation is taking advantage of those good ideas. For this, other metrics come into play. Patents give a clue as to how well a country is exploiting its ideas for commercial gain. What a nation spends on R&D captures not only what universities and government research programs do but also the contribution from industry. How many students a nation educates in science and technology disciplines is a key metric, but little data are available.

This article was originally published with the title Scorecard: The World's Best Countries in Science.

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