IR
Iran
Iran ranks between 4th 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
Autonomous underwater vehicles
4–6tied, of 44
1stCN71.7%4–6IT1.7%4–6KR1.6%4–6IR1.5%7thIN1.4%8–13CA1.0%
Babol Noshirvani University of Technology0.6% of the top 10%
Supercapacitors
7thof 86
1stCN46.3%5thPK3.4%6thUS2.3%7thIR1.9%8thEG1.4%9–11TW1.3%
Shahid Beheshti University0.4% of the top 10%
Hypersonic flight
8thof 284.6 papers of credit
1stCN65.9%4–7HK1.6%4–7DE1.5%8thIR1.3%9–11FR0.9%9–11SA0.9%
University of Tabriz0.3% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
8thof 90
1stCN34.0%6–7IT2.9%6–7SG2.9%8thIR2.3%9–10DE2.1%9–10CA2.1%
University of Tehran0.6% of the top 10%
Gene editing
8–11tied, of 77
1stUS32.2%6thGB2.4%7thCH1.9%8–11IR1.6%8–11NL1.6%8–11CA1.6%
Mashhad University of Medical Sciences0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced chip manufacturing
7–8tied, of 39
1stCN31.8%6thBE2.1%7–8JP1.7%7–8IR1.6%9–10HK1.3%9–10DE1.3%
Babol Noshirvani University of Technology0.6% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
8–9tied, of 82
1stCN30.3%7thGB2.5%8–9DE2.3%8–9IR2.2%10thCA2.1%11–12SA1.9%
Shahid Beheshti University0.3% of the top 10%
Metamaterials
10thof 73
1stCN55.5%8thGB1.9%9thDE1.7%10thIR1.6%11thFR1.4%12thSA1.2%
University of Tehran0.4% of the top 10%
Inertial navigation
11thof 404.0 papers of credit
1stCN64.0%7–10IL1.7%7–10IT1.6%11thIR1.3%12–15IN0.8%12–15ES0.8%
Shiraz University0.3% of the top 10%
Magnets and superconductors
11thof 58
1stCN35.0%9thNZ2.2%10thFR1.7%11thIR1.3%12–16SA1.0%12–16RU1.0%
Damghan University0.4% of the top 10%
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
11–12tied, of 68
1stCN44.5%9–10KR2.2%9–10JP2.1%11–12IR1.7%11–12DE1.6%13thTR1.4%
University of Kashan0.6% of the top 10%
Drones and swarming
12–13tied, of 81
1stCN52.2%9–10SG1.8%11thTR1.3%12–13IR1.2%12–13IT1.2%14–15AE1.1%
Yazd University0.1% of the top 10%
Sonar and underwater acoustics
9–14tied, of 373.2 papers of credit
1stCN71.6%9–14PK1.0%9–14GB1.0%9–14IR0.9%9–14KR0.9%15–23DE0.5%
Shiraz University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Nuclear fission power
12–13tied, of 64
1stCN43.3%11thEG1.1%12–13PL0.8%12–13IR0.8%14–17AE0.7%14–17JP0.7%
University of Isfahan0.3% of the top 10%
Satellite navigation
14–16tied, of 45
1stCN56.1%12–13KR1.2%12–13ES1.1%14–16IR1.0%14–16BR0.9%14–16JP0.9%
Iran University of Science and Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
13–19tied, of 471.7 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%13–19JP0.6%13–19HK0.6%13–19IR0.5%13–19IE0.4%13–19SA0.4%
Tarbiat Modares University0.4% of the top 10%
Radar
10–15tied, of 411.8 papers of credit
1stCN77.0%10–15HK0.4%10–15BE0.3%10–15IR0.3%16–32LU0.3%16–32TR0.2%
Amirkabir University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Cybersecurity
16thof 104
1stCN14.8%14thMY1.9%15thAE1.6%16thIR1.5%17thMA1.3%18thES1.2%
Islamic Azad University of Tabriz0.1% of the top 10%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
16–17tied, of 70
1stUS38.7%14–15FR1.0%16–17BE0.8%16–17IR0.8%18–19ES0.7%18–19TW0.6%
Mashhad University of Medical Sciences0.2% of the top 10%
Hyperspectral imaging
13–18tied, of 544.4 papers of credit
1stCN71.4%13–18TW0.6%13–18RU0.5%13–18IR0.5%19–21KR0.5%19–21AE0.4%
Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman0.3% of the top 10%
Critical minerals processing
17–22tied, of 583.1 papers of credit
1stCN43.0%17–22SA0.8%17–22SG0.7%17–22IR0.7%17–22SE0.6%17–22NL0.6%
University of Isfahan0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced composites
19–21tied, of 68
1stCN50.8%15–18HK0.8%15–18BE0.7%19–21IR0.7%19–21SG0.7%19–21AE0.7%
Iran University of Science and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Hydrogen by electrolysis
17–20tied, of 83
1stCN53.0%17–20NL0.7%17–20TR0.7%17–20IR0.7%21–23ES0.6%21–23DK0.6%
University of Tabriz0.1% of the top 10%
Perovskite solar cells
21–23tied, of 76
1stCN53.9%19–20SE0.5%21–23MO0.4%21–23IR0.4%21–23MA0.4%24–28FR0.3%
Shiraz University0.1% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
22–27tied, of 89
1stCN68.0%15–21TH0.3%22–27PK0.2%22–27IR0.2%22–27BE0.2%22–27TR0.2%
University of Tehran0.0% of the top 10%
Distributed ledgers
21–24tied, of 103
1stCN20.6%21–24BD0.9%21–24QA0.9%21–24IR0.9%21–24TW0.9%25thEG0.8%
Allameh Tabataba'i University0.1% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
20–24tied, of 552.6 papers of credit
1stCN45.7%20–24SA0.5%20–24PT0.5%20–24IR0.4%25–30PK0.4%25–30PL0.4%
National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology0.2% of the top 10%
Nuclear fusion
23–30tied, of 501.0 papers of credit
1stUS27.5%23–30CA0.1%23–30AU0.1%23–30IR0.1%23–30MY0.1%23–30RO0.1%
Amirkabir University of Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Optical communication
26–32tied, of 543.5 papers of credit
1stCN38.8%22–25IQ0.6%22–25GR0.6%26–32IR0.5%26–32SE0.5%26–32RU0.5%
Semnan University0.1% of the top 10%
Quantum sensors
26–36tied, of 481.0 papers of credit
1stCN22.5%22–25RU0.3%26–36SE0.3%26–36IR0.2%26–36SI0.2%26–36AE0.2%
None recorded
Large language models
28–39tied, of 96
1stCN27.4%24–27PK0.4%28–39VN0.3%28–39IR0.3%28–39BR0.3%28–39FI0.3%
University of Guilan0.1% of the top 10%
6G and advanced wireless
26–29tied, of 80
1stCN39.9%26–29MO0.5%26–29IL0.4%26–29IR0.4%30–33VN0.3%30–33IE0.3%
Isfahan University of Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
27–39tied, of 591.9 papers of credit
1stCN20.4%27–39BD0.6%27–39MA0.6%27–39IR0.6%27–39DK0.5%27–39MX0.5%
Sharif University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced robotics
31–39tied, of 542.1 papers of credit
1stCN31.5%26–30AT0.4%26–30NO0.4%31–39IR0.3%31–39TR0.3%31–39BR0.3%
Outside the top 30
Iran University of Science and Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Quantum computing
30–35tied, of 713.5 papers of credit
1stUS34.9%30–35GR0.2%30–35BR0.2%30–35IR0.2%30–35PT0.2%36–40MA0.1%
Outside the top 30
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences0.1% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
27–40tied, of 571.0 papers of credit
1stCN28.9%27–40ZA0.2%27–40TW0.2%27–40IR0.2%27–40EC0.2%27–40NP0.2%
Outside the top 30
University of Tehran0.2% of the top 10%
Atomic clocks
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Small satellites
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
AI chips
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
High-performance computing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Space launch
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%.
Genome sequencing
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
Where Iran is in the top three
PilotEach paper sorted into one sub-area by an AI model reading its title and abstract, then credited as usual. On 200 hand-labelled papers it chose the same sub-area, or a defensible second, 92% of the time. Shown where the sub-area has at least 30 papers in the top 10% and the country at least five papers of credit.
- 3rdTherapeutic gene editing and gene therapyGene editing, 107 papers; behind United States 35.9% and China 18.1%5.6%
- 3rdFlight control, dynamics and airframe design (quadrotor, VTOL)Drones and swarming, 164 papers; behind China 48.9% and Ethiopia 5.1%3.7%
- 3rdElectromagnetic wave absorbersMetamaterials, 249 papers; behind China 69.3% and India 5.1%3.3%