BE
Belgium
Belgium ranks between 6th and 40th across the 45 technologies, by share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025.
TechnologyRankIts neighbours in the rankingShare of the top 10%, from 2021 to 2025Its institution with the most credit
Advanced chip manufacturing
6thof 39
1stCN31.8%4thKR8.7%5thTW5.4%6thBE2.1%7–8JP1.7%7–8IR1.6%
IMEC1.7% of the top 10%
Atomic clocks
9–16tied, of 271.1 papers of credit
1stUS38.7%7–8FR3.5%7–8AT2.9%9–16BE0.8%9–16KR0.8%9–16IL0.8%
KU Leuven0.8% of the top 10%
Optical communication
10–11tied, of 54
1stCN38.8%8thEG2.0%9thFR1.8%10–11BE1.6%10–11KR1.6%12–13SA1.5%
IMEC0.8% of the top 10%
Genome sequencing
10–12tied, of 59
1stUS33.6%7–9SE1.5%10–12ES1.4%10–12BE1.3%10–12HK1.3%13–14IN1.2%
Sciensano (Belgium)0.5% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
11–14tied, of 55
1stCN45.7%9–10CH1.1%11–14CA0.9%11–14BE0.8%11–14FR0.8%11–14NL0.8%
Ghent University0.5% of the top 10%
Radar
10–15tied, of 412.0 papers of credit
1stCN77.0%10–15NL0.4%10–15HK0.4%10–15BE0.3%10–15IR0.3%16–32LU0.3%
IMEC0.3% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
15–17tied, of 594.6 papers of credit
1stCN20.4%11–14SG1.6%11–14FR1.5%15–17BE1.4%15–17CA1.3%15–17IQ1.2%
KU Leuven0.7% of the top 10%
Critical minerals processing
14–15tied, of 58
1stCN43.0%10–13ZA1.5%14–15FI1.4%14–15BE1.2%16thTR1.1%17–22SA0.8%
KU Leuven0.9% of the top 10%
Quantum sensors
14–16tied, of 484.6 papers of credit
1stCN22.5%11–13HK1.3%14–16IL1.2%14–16BE1.1%14–16SG1.0%17–21CA0.9%
Université Libre de Bruxelles0.6% of the top 10%
Hyperspectral imaging
13–18tied, of 544.7 papers of credit
1stCN71.4%13–18MO0.6%13–18TR0.6%13–18BE0.6%13–18TW0.6%13–18RU0.5%
University of Antwerp0.2% of the top 10%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
16–17tied, of 70
1stUS38.7%14–15SG1.1%14–15FR1.0%16–17BE0.8%16–17IR0.8%18–19ES0.7%
Ghent University0.3% of the top 10%
Hypersonic flight
12–17tied, of 281.8 papers of credit
1stCN65.9%12–17NZ0.6%12–17AU0.6%12–17BE0.5%18–24BR0.3%18–24TR0.3%
Université Libre de Bruxelles0.2% of the top 10%
Space launch
13–17tied, of 180.2 papers of credit
1stCN34.8%13–17PT1.0%13–17HK0.4%13–17TR0.3%13–17GB0.2%13–17BE0.2%
Université Libre de Bruxelles0.2% of the top 10%
Nuclear fission power
14–17tied, of 644.4 papers of credit
1stCN43.3%14–17JP0.7%14–17SA0.6%14–17BE0.6%18–25ID0.5%18–25SE0.5%
Belgian Nuclear Research Centre0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced composites
15–18tied, of 68
1stCN50.8%15–18PT0.8%15–18HK0.8%15–18BE0.7%19–21IR0.7%19–21SG0.7%
KU Leuven0.3% of the top 10%
Satellite navigation
19–21tied, of 454.8 papers of credit
1stCN56.1%17–18CH0.8%17–18SI0.7%19–21BE0.7%19–21IN0.6%19–21SG0.6%
Royal Observatory of Belgium0.1% of the top 10%
Advanced robotics
18–25tied, of 544.4 papers of credit
1stCN31.5%16–17MO0.7%18–25IN0.6%18–25BE0.6%18–25FI0.6%18–25DK0.6%
IMEC0.2% of the top 10%
Nuclear fusion
20–22tied, of 503.0 papers of credit
1stUS27.5%17–19PL0.5%17–19AT0.4%20–22BE0.3%20–22HU0.3%20–22PT0.3%
Belgian Nuclear Research Centre0.2% of the top 10%
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
19–22tied, of 564.1 papers of credit
1stCN40.8%18thRU0.8%19–22PL0.6%19–22BE0.6%19–22SG0.5%19–22CA0.5%
IMEC0.2% of the top 10%
Gene editing
19–21tied, of 77
1stUS32.2%16–18SA0.7%19–21TR0.6%19–21BE0.6%19–21SE0.5%22–29IL0.4%
Ghent University0.3% of the top 10%
AI chips
20–22tied, of 463.0 papers of credit
1stCN46.2%17–19JP0.6%17–19AE0.5%20–22BE0.4%20–22RU0.4%20–22AT0.4%
KU Leuven0.2% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
22–26tied, of 572.9 papers of credit
1stCN28.9%18–20AU0.8%21stSE0.7%22–26BE0.5%22–26SA0.5%22–26HK0.4%
Université Libre de Bruxelles0.2% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
20–39tied, of 471.0 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%20–39AU0.3%20–39RU0.3%20–39BE0.3%20–39RO0.3%20–39NL0.3%
Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics0.1% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
22–27tied, of 89
1stCN68.0%22–27PK0.2%22–27IR0.2%22–27BE0.2%22–27TR0.2%22–27FI0.2%
Vrije Universiteit Brussel0.1% of the top 10%
Quantum computing
26–29tied, of 71
1stUS34.9%22–25TW0.4%22–25AE0.4%26–29BE0.3%26–29EG0.3%26–29ZA0.3%
IMEC0.2% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
27–29tied, of 90
1stCN34.0%25–26BR0.6%25–26IE0.6%27–29BE0.5%27–29RO0.5%27–29SE0.5%
KU Leuven0.3% of the top 10%
Inertial navigation
16–29tied, of 400.3 papers of credit
1stCN64.0%16–29PL0.2%16–29LB0.2%16–29BE0.1%16–29SG0.1%16–29CH0.1%
Ghent University0.1% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
29–32tied, of 824.1 papers of credit
1stCN30.3%29–32HK0.6%29–32TH0.5%29–32BE0.5%29–32GR0.5%33–38SE0.4%
Outside the top 30
KU Leuven0.4% of the top 10%
Magnets and superconductors
27–39tied, of 580.8 papers of credit
1stCN35.0%27–39MX0.2%27–39TW0.2%27–39BE0.2%27–39SK0.2%27–39HK0.1%
Outside the top 30
University of Liège0.2% of the top 10%
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
32–40tied, of 682.1 papers of credit
1stCN44.5%32–40RU0.3%32–40MO0.2%32–40BE0.2%32–40HU0.2%32–40ID0.2%
Outside the top 30
KU Leuven0.1% of the top 10%
Large language models
28–39tied, of 96
1stCN27.4%28–39JO0.3%28–39DK0.3%28–39BE0.3%28–39RO0.3%40thHU0.2%
Outside the top 30
Ghent University0.1% of the top 10%
Autonomous underwater vehicles
32–38tied, of 440.2 papers of credit
1stCN71.7%32–38SA0.2%32–38FI0.1%32–38KZ0.1%32–38NZ0.1%32–38BE0.1%
Outside the top 30
North Atlantic Treaty Organization0.1% of the top 10%
Small satellites
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Drones and swarming
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Supercapacitors
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Perovskite solar cells
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Hydrogen by electrolysis
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
High-performance computing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Sonar and underwater acoustics
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Directed energy
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Electronic warfare
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Metamaterials
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
6G and advanced wireless
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Cybersecurity
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Distributed ledgers
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Neighbours are the countries ranked just above and below. Ranks are shown as a range where shares are equal to one decimal place. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 18 October 2026. Method