The Chinese Academy of Sciences, the premier research institution of China, topped the Top 200 Institutions ranking in latest Nature Index released by Nature Publishing Group.

The contributions of China's scientific research institutions to the world have increased significantly in recent years, not only in terms of the quantity of papers, but also in terms of the quality of research. At present, Chinese researchers have authored the third-largest number of high-quality scientific papers in the world, behind only the United States and the European Union, accounting for 14 percent of the world's total. In 1980s, China's share of the world's high-quality scientific research was less than 1 percent.

The ranking was calculated using a weighted fractional count, or WFC, of 2013 data. Physics and chemistry are two traditional strengths in East and South Asian countries, and 90 percent of China's scientific papers come from these disciplines according to the WFC. Forty-five percent of papers in North America come from the life sciences, while the southern hemisphere tends to focus on earth science and environmental science.

   National Institutes of Health (NIH)

National Institutes of Health [people.com.cn]

Country: United States

WFC: 390.96

Article count: 801

2012 WFC: 386.30

2012–2013 change in WFC: 1.2%