Chinese cities soar in science ranking while US and European rivals drop

Beijing is once again world’s top city for high-quality research output according to annual Nature Index, while Shanghai comes in third place

The other 18 Chinese metro areas among the top 50 jump up the list, with up-and-comer Hefei beating out London and Los Angeles

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A total of 32 cities in mainland China appear on the 2023 “Leading 200 Science Cities” list compiled by the journal Nature. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:41pm, 24 Nov 2023Updated: 8:59pm, 24 Nov 2023

Chinese cities are rapidly growing in high-quality scientific research while American and European rivals are dropping, according to a global ranking of top science cities by Nature Index released on Wednesday.

The “Leading 200 Science Cities” list – maintained by the academic journal Nature – tracks research output by measuring contributions to academic articles published in 82 of the world’s most influential natural science journals from 2015 to 2022.

A total of 32 cities in mainland China made the 2023 list, and almost all of them climbed up the rankings compared to their positions on last year’s list, with only one exception: Taiyuan, an inland city located in central China.

Five out of the top 10 cities on the 2023 list are in mainland China, and Beijing once again ranks as the top science city in the world.

The top five cities – Beijing, New York, Shanghai, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area – remained unchanged.

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