Mostly. China leads space launch, satellite navigation and inertial navigation. In small satellites, the United States, China and Italy are level.
Measured by each country's share of the 10% most cited space and navigation research papers published 2021–2025, as of October 2026. It counts research influence, not total output, products or industry. How it's measured
Year by year, China is pulling ahead in satellite navigation
Each line shows how much of a year's most influential research came from each country.
ChinaUnited StatesOther leadersFew papers that yearHover or tap a year. Open a chart for the full ranking.
Share of each year's 10% most cited papers, with each paper's credit split between its authors' countries. Hollow markers and dashed lines: fewer than 20 top papers that year. Years before 2021 with fewer than 20 top papers are not drawn. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 24 October 2026.
Table of the numbers
Small satellites: share of the 10% most cited papers by year
Year
China
United States
Top papers
2018
3.5%
41.0%
24
2019
7.2%
22.8%
24
2020
0.0%
30.4%
27
2021
19.9%
10.8%
27
2022
4.2%
1.6%
24
2023
16.3%
33.1%
25
2024
19.4%
13.7%
25
2025
3.9%
9.2%
25
Space launch: share of the 10% most cited papers by year
Year
China
United States
Top papers
2021
24.3%
25.0%
20
2022
30.9%
19.3%
19 (few)
2023
25.8%
5.3%
20
2024
40.3%
4.8%
21
2025
51.3%
7.9%
21
Satellite navigation: share of the 10% most cited papers by year
Year
China
United States
Top papers
2007
1.3%
13.8%
31
2008
1.7%
21.2%
24
2009
7.5%
34.7%
31
2010
7.6%
11.7%
33
2011
6.1%
15.2%
52
2012
20.2%
12.2%
48
2013
21.4%
12.6%
74
2014
18.4%
7.4%
66
2015
30.5%
3.3%
65
2016
28.9%
11.2%
75
2017
31.6%
6.9%
78
2018
43.0%
7.6%
98
2019
53.1%
4.1%
102
2020
40.0%
6.8%
119
2021
45.4%
6.2%
121
2022
54.9%
7.6%
134
2023
58.4%
5.0%
135
2024
57.7%
3.9%
149
2025
61.7%
5.3%
164
Inertial navigation: share of the 10% most cited papers by year
Year
China
United States
Top papers
2011
13.5%
30.2%
23
2012
34.7%
15.2%
27
2013
29.8%
25.0%
34
2014
41.4%
10.1%
33
2015
32.3%
10.0%
30
2016
38.9%
8.9%
30
2017
38.0%
15.6%
34
2018
53.0%
6.0%
45
2019
44.5%
6.1%
45
2020
59.3%
7.8%
54
2021
71.6%
5.9%
51
2022
52.0%
9.3%
56
2023
67.9%
2.5%
59
2024
67.1%
6.6%
64
2025
62.0%
7.4%
71
What stands out
In 18 years, China went from behind the United States to the lead in satellite navigation. In 2007, China wrote fewer than one in twenty (1.3%) of the most influential satellite-navigation papers and the United States about one in seven. In 2025, China wrote about three in five and the United States about one in twenty (5.3%).
In small satellites, no country clearly leads. The United States, China and Italy each write about one in eight of the most influential small-satellite papers (13.7%, 12.9% and 11.5%). Of 126 top papers, fewer than three papers' worth of credit separates first from third.
In inertial navigation, China's lead is overwhelming. China writes about three in five of the most influential inertial-navigation papers, about ten times the next country, the United States.
Editor's notes, re-checked against the data on every update (latest 24 October 2026); a note the data stops supporting is removed.
China gained ground in two of four areas
The United States lost ground in two. Hollow dots: 2021–2023. Filled: 2024–2025. On the right, China's change in percentage points. Small satellites has 50 and space launch has 42 top papers in 2024–2025, so a few papers move them.
2021–20232024–2025Share of the 10% most cited papers
Small satellites: the United States, China and Italy are level
Satellites from shoebox-sized CubeSats upward, and the constellations built from them.
The United States, China and Italy are about level: each writes about one in eight of the most influential small-satellite papers (13.7%, 12.9% and 11.5%). Since 2021–2023, China's and the US shares both moved by under three papers' worth.
2021–2025: the United States 13.7% (1st, about 17 of the 126 top papers), China 12.9% (2nd, about 16), Italy 11.5% (3rd), South Korea 6.7% (4th), the United Arab Emirates 3.5% (joint 5th). 2021–2023 to 2024–2025: China 13.7% to 11.7%, the United States 15.2% to 11.5%. With 126 top papers in all, a few papers move these shares. All 47 countries and institutions
Top 1%
No clear leader (15 papers)
Leading Chinese institution
Northwestern Polytechnical University, 7th in the world
Rockets and the engines, structures and recovery systems that put payloads into orbit.
China writes about one in three of the most influential space-launch papers, about three times the United States' share. Since 2021–2023, China's share grew by about two-thirds and the US share more than halved.
2021–2025: China 34.8% (1st, about 35 of the 101 top papers), the United States 12.3% (2nd, about 12), South Korea 8.9% (3rd), Italy 6.9% (joint 4th), Germany 6.8% (joint 4th). 2021–2023 to 2024–2025: China 26.9% to 45.8%, the United States 16.5% to 6.3%. With 101 top papers in all, a few papers move these shares. All 18 countries and institutions
Satellite navigation: China leads by a wide margin
GPS, BeiDou, Galileo and the methods that turn their signals into precise positions.
China writes about three in five of the most influential satellite-navigation papers, about ten times the United States' share. Since 2021–2023, China's share rose by 7 points and the US share fell by about a quarter.
2021–2025: China 56.1% (1st, about 390 of the 703 top papers), the United States 5.5% (2nd, about 39), Germany 3.9% (3rd), Hong Kong 3.4% (4th), Australia 2.2% (joint 5th). 2021–2023 to 2024–2025: China 53.1% to 59.8%, the United States 6.3% to 4.7%. All 45 countries and institutions
Gyroscopes and accelerometers that track position without outside signals.
China writes about three in five of the most influential inertial-navigation papers, about ten times the United States' share. Since 2021–2023, China's share held steady and the US share moved by under three papers' worth.
2021–2025: China 64.0% (1st, about 190 of the 301 top papers), the United States 6.4% (2nd, about 19), Canada 3.7% (3rd), Hong Kong 2.9% (4th), the United Kingdom 2.3% (joint 5th). 2021–2023 to 2024–2025: China 63.7% to 64.4%, the United States 5.9% to 7.0%. All 40 countries and institutions
Italy, South Korea, Germany and Hong Kong are among the top three after China and the United States in two or more areas each. Italy is level with the leaders in small satellites. Other 3rd places: South Korea in space launch, Germany in satellite navigation and Canada in inertial navigation.
Country
Small satellitesSmall satellites
Space launchSpace launch
Satellite navigationSatellite navigation
Inertial navigationInertial navigation
Strongest area
3rd11.5%
=4th6.9%
=5th2.2%
=7th1.6%
Small satellites
4th6.7%
3rd8.9%
=12th1.2%
=16th0.3%
Space launch
=8th2.5%
=4th6.8%
3rd3.9%
=5th2.2%
Satellite navigation
=15th1.6%
=6th5.4%
10th1.5%
=7th1.8%
Space launch
=24th0.8%
=6th5.2%
=19th0.6%
=12th0.8%
Space launch
=15th1.3%
–
7th2.0%
3rd3.7%
Inertial navigation
=24th0.2%
=13th0.4%
4th3.4%
4th2.9%
Satellite navigation
=8th2.5%
–
=5th2.2%
=7th1.9%
Satellite navigation
=8th2.6%
=8th2.9%
=14th0.9%
–
Space launch
=8th2.5%
=13th0.2%
11th1.3%
=5th2.3%
Inertial navigation
=15th1.2%
=8th3.0%
=8th1.7%
=16th0.2%
Space launch
=8th2.0%
=10th2.0%
=28th0.3%
–
Small satellites
Rank, then share of the most cited papers, 2021–2025. "=" marks a tie. Hover or tap a cell for more; tap a country to follow it through the page.
Does China's lead hold up?
Mostly. Counting only the 1% most cited papers, China still clearly leads two of the three areas it leads overall; in space launch, the top 1% (12 papers) is too close to call.
Check 1: only the most cited 1% of papers
Each technology's top 1% is a tenth as many papers as its top 10%, so a few papers move it. Hollow: the top 10%. Filled: the top 1%.
In small satellites, space launch and satellite navigation, China's top papers are cited from within China more than its size would predict (1.3 to 6 times as often); in inertial navigation, about as much as predicted. Space launch's figure rests on 23 papers. Remove that excess and China's small-satellite share goes from 12.9% to 5.0%; it ranks 4th (the one area recomputed this way so far).
The numbers behind this check
Researchers cite work from their own country more often. This compares how often China's top papers are cited from China with what China's size in the field predicts; the re-ranking removes only the excess.
Home citers include authors citing their own earlier work. Re-ranking with the excess removed is computed so far for small satellites (China 12.9% → 5.0%).
China's most influential space and navigation papers
The most cited papers led from China, 2021–2025. Tap a technology.
Wuhan University and State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying Mapping and Remote Sensing
124citations, #11 of 301 worldwide
"Led from China": at least half the author credit is Chinese. Reviews are spotted by OpenAlex's paper type and by their titles, so a few may slip through.
China writes the largest share in all 12 sub‑areas
These are the 12 specialist areas with at least 30 top papers, all in satellite navigation and inertial navigation. Its narrowest margin is in urban, smartphone and low-cost GNSS positioning (satellite navigation): 33.1% against 17.7% for Hong Kong.
Share of the sub-area's papers in the top 10%: China against the strongest other country
01020304050607080%
China's margin
GNSS/INS and multi-sensor integrated navigationSatellite navigation, 128 papers
IRCN
+68.5 pts
GNSS/INS integration and filteringInertial navigation, 112 papers
IRCN
+65.3 pts
Indoor and pedestrian positioningInertial navigation, 35 papers
HKCN
+58.9 pts
GNSS remote sensing: atmosphere, reflectometry and geodesySatellite navigation, 108 papers
USCN
+58.4 pts
Precise point positioning and PPP-RTK servicesSatellite navigation, 86 papers
DECN
+57.6 pts
Sensor calibration and error compensationInertial navigation, 32 papers
CACN
+57.0 pts
Gyroscope and accelerometer hardware (MEMS, fibre-optic)Inertial navigation, 30 papers
INCN
+51.1 pts
Jamming, spoofing, integrity and authenticationSatellite navigation, 73 papers
Precise orbits, clocks, biases and reference framesSatellite navigation, 61 papers
DECN
+38.3 pts
LEO-satellite navigation and signals of opportunitySatellite navigation, 44 papers
USCN
+18.2 pts
Urban, smartphone and low-cost GNSS positioningSatellite navigation, 91 papers
HKCN
+15.4 pts
The numbers behind the chart
Sub-area
Technology
Papers
China
Strongest other country
GNSS/INS and multi-sensor integrated navigation
Satellite navigation
128
71.6% (1st)
Iran 3.1%
GNSS/INS integration and filtering
Inertial navigation
112
68.9% (1st)
Iran 3.6%
Indoor and pedestrian positioning
Inertial navigation
35
65.6% (1st)
Hong Kong 6.7%
GNSS remote sensing: atmosphere, reflectometry and geodesy
Satellite navigation
108
66.0% (1st)
United States 7.6%
Precise point positioning and PPP-RTK services
Satellite navigation
86
62.9% (1st)
Germany 5.3%
Sensor calibration and error compensation
Inertial navigation
32
65.6% (1st)
Canada 8.6%
Gyroscope and accelerometer hardware (MEMS, fibre-optic)
Inertial navigation
30
57.8% (1st)
India 6.7%
Jamming, spoofing, integrity and authentication
Satellite navigation
73
51.1% (1st)
United States 8.8%
Navigation without GNSS (vision, LiDAR, UWB, DVL, geomagnetic)
Inertial navigation
58
55.6% (1st)
United States 16.2%
Precise orbits, clocks, biases and reference frames
Satellite navigation
61
52.6% (1st)
Germany 14.3%
LEO-satellite navigation and signals of opportunity
Satellite navigation
44
43.0% (1st)
United States 24.8%
Urban, smartphone and low-cost GNSS positioning
Satellite navigation
91
33.1% (1st)
Hong Kong 17.7%
Specialist areas sorted by an AI model reading each paper (92% agreement with hand labels). Small satellites and space launch are left out: none of their specialist areas has 30 top papers.
The universities behind China's lead
Beihang University and Northwestern Polytechnical University are each in the world's top ten in three of the four areas.
Beihang University2nd in space launch, 3rd in satellite navigation, 2nd in inertial navigation
Northwestern Polytechnical University7th in small satellites, 4th in space launch, 4th in inertial navigation
Wuhan University1st in satellite navigation, 1st in inertial navigation
National University of Defense Technology4th in satellite navigation, 6th in inertial navigation
Harbin Institute of Technology3rd in space launch
Southeast University3rd in inertial navigation
Chinese Academy of Sciences5th in satellite navigation
PLA Information Engineering University6th in satellite navigation
Who China writes its top papers with
HKHong Kong36
GBUnited Kingdom31
AUAustralia31
DEGermany18
CACanada15
Questions
Which country leads space and navigation research, China or the United States?
As of October 2026, China leads three of the four space and navigation areas tracked here, by share of the most cited research papers from 2021–2025: space launch (34.8%), satellite navigation (56.1%) and inertial navigation (64.0%). In small satellites, the United States (13.7%), China (12.9%) and Italy (11.5%) are level.
How do Canada, India, the UK and other countries rank in space and navigation research?
Their best placings: Italy level with the leaders in small satellites (3rd, 11.5%), Canada 3rd in inertial navigation, India joint 6th in space launch, the United Kingdom joint 5th in inertial navigation, South Korea 3rd in space launch, Germany 3rd in satellite navigation and Japan joint 8th in space launch. Pick any country at the top of the page to see its rank in each area.
Is China's share of top space and navigation research growing?
In two of four areas, comparing 2021–2023 with 2024–2025: space launch from 26.9% to 45.8% and satellite navigation from 53.1% to 59.8%. In small satellites, 13.7% to 11.7% is under three papers' worth of change, too little to call. It held steady in inertial navigation (63.7% to 64.4%).
Which Chinese universities lead space and navigation research?
Beihang University and Northwestern Polytechnical University are each in the world's top ten in three of the four areas. Others in a world top ten include Wuhan University, National University of Defense Technology and Harbin Institute of Technology.
What is China's most cited space and navigation study?
"A Novel NLOS Error Compensation Method Based IMU for UWB Indoor Positioning System" (2021), with 151 citations, is the most cited original study led from China in 2021–2025 across these four areas. Counting reviews, it is "Multi-sensor integrated navigation/positioning systems using data fusion: From analytics-based to learning-based approaches" (2023), a review with 264 citations.
What does this measure, and what does it not?
Each country's share of the 10% most cited research papers published 2021–2025, with each paper's credit split between its authors' countries. Four technologies stand for space and navigation here: small satellites (CubeSats and the constellations built from them), space launch (rockets and their engines), satellite navigation (GPS, BeiDou and Galileo) and inertial navigation (gyroscopes and accelerometers). It does not measure launches flown, satellites in orbit, companies, budgets or military space programmes. How it's measured.
Each year-by-year chart has a "Save as image" button, with the source drawn on. Free to reuse with credit (CC BY 4.0).
Embed the charts on a website
<iframe src="https://worldtechrankings.com/embed/china-space/" title="China in space and navigation research, by year" width="100%" height="560" style="border:0" loading="lazy"></iframe>
Cite it
Hamadeh, K. (2026). China in space and navigation research. World Tech Rankings. Data: OpenAlex, pulled 24 October 2026. https://worldtechrankings.com/china/space/
Need every country back to 2005, or a licence for your organisation? Request it.
How this is measured
Most cited papers
For each technology and year, the 10% of papers that other researchers cite most, from OpenAlex, an open catalogue of research. Ranking within each year stops older papers crowding out newer ones.
A country's share
Each paper's credit is split between its authors' countries: a paper with two Chinese and two American authors counts half to each. A country's share is its credit divided by all credit.
The top 1%
The same, for the 1% most cited papers: a tenth as many papers, so it moves more with a few of them.
Home-country citations
Citations from a paper's own country beyond what the country's size in the field predicts. Removing them is a test of whether a lead rests on self-citation.
Sub-areas
Each top paper is sorted into one sub-area by an AI model reading its title and abstract, checked against 200 hand-labelled papers (92% agreement).
Definitions
The keywords and topic lists for space launch, satellite navigation and inertial navigation have not yet been reviewed by hand; their top papers were checked for relevance by AI.
What it is not
Four technologies stand for space and navigation here: small satellites (CubeSats and the constellations built from them), space launch (rockets and their engines), satellite navigation (GPS, BeiDou and Galileo) and inertial navigation (gyroscopes and accelerometers). It does not measure launches flown, satellites in orbit, companies, budgets or military space programmes. Research leadership and industrial leadership can differ.
Data: OpenAlex, pulled 24 October 2026; definition version 0.5. Every number on this page is recomputed from the data on each update. Full method.