Math Rankings by Country 2023

Mathematics is the science and study of quality, structure, space, and change, either as abstract concepts (pure mathematics) or applied to other disciplines such as physics and engineering (applied mathematics). Mathematicians seek patterns, formulate new speculations, and establish facts by rigorous deduction from appropriately established formulas and definitions. Mathematics is frequently shortened to either "math" or "maths" depending upon the region.

In order to provide greater exposure to the leading mathematical scientists around the globe, research.com launched an annual ranking of the world's top mathematical scientists. The 2022 edition of the rankings evaluates the contributions of more than 3,707 mathematical scientists, organized according to the country in which each scientist's research institution is located. The main methodology used to determine the rankings was the D-index (Discipline H-index), which tracks each scientist's published scholarly papers and citations in their specific discipline.

The purpose of math ranking by country

The ranking of maths scholars in different countries is meant to grant the academic community more visibility and to raise awareness of the influential contributions made by those at the forefront of mathematics. The ranking is also meant to inspire researchers and entrepreneurs around the world to learn the countries in which the leading maths researchers are working and the direction their research is taking.

Top Ten Countries with the Highest Math Ranking (by # of leading mathematics scientists in the top 1,000):

1. United States — 458 (45.8%)
2. United Kingdom — 63 (6.3%)
3. Germany — 60 (6.0%)
4. France — 53 (5.3%)
5. China — 47 (4.7%)
6. Canada — 38 (3.8%)
7. Italy — 31 (3.1%)
8. Australia — 28 (2.8%)
9. Switzerland — 20 (2.0%)
10. Austria — 18 (1.8%)

Number of Leading Math Scientists by Country

Scientists from the United States dominate the 2022 list, which saw 458 of the top 1,000 scholars—a full 45.8% of all mathematics scientists ranked—working for US-based institutions. Seven out of 10 scientists in the top 1% were located in the US, while the remaining three were from the United Kingdom, Israel, and Turkey.

The UK ranked second with 63 scientists, and the third spot was taken by Germany, which produced 60 ranking scientists. The other leading countries were France with 53 scientists, China with 47 scientists, Canada with 38 scientists, and Italy with 31 scholars.

Mathematics rankings at universities and secondary schools by Country

In terms of colleges, American universities, led by Princeton University, contributed 9 of the top 10 leading institutions in mathematics. The non-American institution included in the top 10 was the Swiss ETH Zurich, which ranked in the 10th position and claimed 12 maths scientists.

In a 2021 ranking of secondary school students' performance in international science and math competitions, the United States dropped from the second spot in 2020 to the third spot in 2021, behind China and Russia. The US was followed in the rankings by Taiwan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Romania, Hong Kong and Iran, respectively.