World Tech Rankings

IT

Italy

Italy ranks between 3rd and 29th across the 45 technologies, by share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025.

Go to a country

CNChina USUnited States INIndia GBUnited Kingdom DEGermany KRSouth Korea ITItaly

TechnologyRankIts neighbours in the rankingShare of the top 10%, from 2021 to 2025Its institution with the most credit

Small satellites

1stUS13.7%2ndCN12.9%3rdIT11.5%4thKR6.7%5–7AE3.5%

Politecnico di Milano5.5% of the top 10%

Sonar and underwater acoustics

1stCN71.6%2ndUS4.1%3rdIT2.9%4thIN2.0%5–8CA1.6%

University of Catania0.6% of the top 10%

Advanced robotics

1stCN31.5%2ndUS16.0%3rdIT6.4%4thGB4.7%5thDE4.5%

Italian Institute of Technology1.4% of the top 10%

Hypersonic flight

4–7tied, of 28

1stCN65.9%2ndUS7.4%3rdIN6.0%4–7IT1.7%4–7KR1.7%4–7HK1.6%

Sapienza University of Rome0.7% of the top 10%

Autonomous underwater vehicles

4–6tied, of 44

1stCN71.7%2ndUS3.7%3rdGB2.4%4–6IT1.7%4–6KR1.6%4–6IR1.5%

University of Florence0.8% of the top 10%

High-performance computing

4–5tied, of 45

1stUS36.3%2ndCN13.9%3rdDE7.5%4–5IT4.4%4–5ES4.3%6thFR3.3%

Cineca1.1% of the top 10%

4–5tied, of 18

1stCN34.8%2ndUS12.3%3rdKR8.9%4–5IT6.9%4–5DE6.8%6–7FR5.4%

Sapienza University of Rome2.2% of the top 10%

1stCN77.0%2–3US2.9%2–3GB2.8%4thIT2.7%5–6KR2.2%5–6DE2.1%

Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni0.7% of the top 10%

New antibiotics and antivirals

1stCN30.3%2ndUS15.3%3rdIN4.7%4thIT4.2%5–6BR2.8%5–6AU2.7%

University of Naples Federico II0.4% of the top 10%

Quantum communication

1stCN28.9%3rdDE7.6%4thGB5.5%5thIT3.6%6–8ES3.3%6–8AT3.2%

Sapienza University of Rome0.7% of the top 10%

1stUS27.5%4thGB10.1%5thFR5.3%6thIT5.0%7thCH3.2%8–9JP2.2%

National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development1.1% of the top 10%

Wide-bandgap semiconductors

1stCN40.8%4thIN4.3%5thKR2.9%6thIT2.5%7thGB2.3%8thDE2.1%

University of Padua0.6% of the top 10%

Additive manufacturing

6–7tied, of 90

1stCN34.0%4thAU3.9%5thGB3.6%6–7IT2.9%6–7SG2.9%8thIR2.3%

Politecnico di Torino0.7% of the top 10%

Quantum sensors

1stCN22.5%4thGB8.4%5thFR5.2%6thIT3.3%7–8NL3.0%7–8JP2.9%

Sapienza University of Rome0.3% of the top 10%

Satellite navigation

5–6tied, of 45

1stCN56.1%4thHK3.4%5–6AU2.2%5–6IT2.2%7thCA2.0%8–9FI1.8%

Politecnico di Torino0.5% of the top 10%

Hyperspectral imaging

6–7tied, of 54

1stCN71.4%5thFR1.7%6–7AU1.4%6–7IT1.4%8–9DE1.1%8–9GB1.0%

Sapienza University of Rome0.3% of the top 10%

Magnets and superconductors

7–8tied, of 58

1stCN35.0%5–6DE4.6%5–6JP4.6%7–8IT2.6%7–8CH2.6%9thNZ2.2%

University of Bologna0.4% of the top 10%

Distributed ledgers

1stCN20.6%5thSA4.3%6thAU3.7%7thIT2.7%8thKR2.6%9thAE2.3%

University of Salerno0.3% of the top 10%

Advanced composites

7–8tied, of 68

1stCN50.8%5thTR3.3%6thAU2.7%7–8IT2.3%7–8KR2.3%9thES1.1%

Politecnico di Milano0.3% of the top 10%

Large language models

8–9tied, of 96

1stCN27.4%7thIN2.2%8–9HK2.1%8–9IT2.1%10thCA1.7%11thSG1.6%

University of Calabria0.1% of the top 10%

Quantum computing

1stUS34.9%8–9NL3.0%8–9AU2.9%10thIT2.8%11thFR2.4%12thAT2.2%

University of Trento0.2% of the top 10%

mRNA vaccines and therapeutics

10–11tied, of 70

1stUS38.7%8thIL2.3%9thKR2.2%10–11IT1.8%10–11NL1.8%12–13IN1.6%

Sapienza University of Rome0.3% of the top 10%

1stCN46.2%8–9CH1.9%8–9GB1.9%10thIT1.8%11–13SA1.3%11–13TW1.2%

Politecnico di Milano0.7% of the top 10%

Inertial navigation

7–10tied, of 40

1stCN64.0%7–10FR1.8%7–10IL1.7%7–10IT1.6%11thIR1.3%12–15IN0.8%

Polytechnic University of Bari0.7% of the top 10%

Nuclear fission power

1stCN43.3%8thIN1.8%9thDE1.6%10thIT1.4%11thEG1.1%12–13PL0.8%

Politecnico di Milano0.8% of the top 10%

10^thof 104

1stCN14.8%7–9PK2.8%7–9KR2.8%10thIT2.3%11–12TR2.2%11–12JO2.2%

University of Naples Federico II0.3% of the top 10%

Post-quantum cryptography

11–14tied, of 59

1stCN20.4%9thAU2.5%10thES2.2%11–14IT1.7%11–14TR1.7%11–14SG1.6%

University of Salerno0.7% of the top 10%

Hydrogen by electrolysis

1stCN53.0%9thCA1.5%10thSG1.4%11thIT1.3%12thHK1.2%13–16EG0.9%

Politecnico di Torino0.2% of the top 10%

Critical minerals processing

10–13tied, of 58

1stCN43.0%7–9ES1.8%10–13FR1.7%10–13IT1.6%10–13BR1.5%10–13ZA1.5%

Sapienza University of Rome0.3% of the top 10%

Directed energy

10–21tied, of 210.9 papers of credit

1stCN57.5%7–9CH1.6%10–21PT1.1%10–21IT1.0%10–21FR0.8%10–21AU0.8%

Sapienza University of Rome0.5% of the top 10%

Electronic warfare

4–19tied, of 230.9 papers of credit

1stCN81.0%4–19NO0.8%4–19SG0.8%4–19IT0.8%4–19IN0.7%4–19AE0.5%

University of Pisa0.8% of the top 10%

1stUS32.2%8–11CA1.6%8–11JP1.5%12thIT1.4%13–14AU1.1%13–14PK1.1%

The San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy0.2% of the top 10%

Drones and swarming

12–13tied, of 81

1stCN52.2%11thTR1.3%12–13IR1.2%12–13IT1.2%14–15AE1.1%14–15TW1.1%

Politecnico di Torino0.2% of the top 10%

1stCN55.5%11thFR1.4%12thSA1.2%13thIT1.1%14thCA1.0%15thNL0.7%

Roma Tre University0.2% of the top 10%

Optical communication

12–13tied, of 54

1stCN38.8%10–11KR1.6%12–13SA1.5%12–13IT1.5%14–15SG1.1%14–15CH1.1%

Politecnico di Milano0.5% of the top 10%

Perovskite solar cells

1stCN53.9%12thAU1.5%13thPK1.0%14thIT0.9%15–16CA0.8%15–16SG0.8%

University of Rome Tor Vergata0.2% of the top 10%

6G and advanced wireless

14–15tied, of 80

1stCN39.9%12–13AU1.7%12–13FR1.7%14–15IT1.4%14–15AE1.4%16–17TW1.3%

University of Bologna0.2% of the top 10%

9–16tied, of 270.5 papers of credit

1stUS38.7%9–16CH0.7%9–16FI0.6%9–16IT0.4%9–16CZ0.1%17–20HK0.1%

Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica0.4% of the top 10%

Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel

14–16tied, of 68

1stCN44.5%13thTR1.4%14–16MY1.3%14–16IT1.3%14–16DK1.3%17–19CA1.2%

Politecnico di Milano0.2% of the top 10%

Synthetic biology

15–19tied, of 554.5 papers of credit

1stCN45.7%11–14NL0.8%15–19SE0.7%15–19IT0.7%15–19JP0.7%15–19MX0.7%

University of Parma0.2% of the top 10%

Electric batteries

15–21tied, of 89

1stCN68.0%15–21MY0.3%15–21TW0.3%15–21IT0.3%15–21SE0.3%15–21DK0.3%

University of Pisa0.0% of the top 10%

Advanced aircraft engines

13–19tied, of 471.1 papers of credit

1stCN64.6%13–19SA0.4%13–19VN0.3%13–19IT0.3%20–39FI0.3%20–39AU0.3%

University of Pisa0.2% of the top 10%

Advanced chip manufacturing

13–20tied, of 391.5 papers of credit

1stCN31.8%13–20MY0.5%13–20FR0.4%13–20IT0.4%13–20NO0.4%21–33AE0.3%

University of Pisa0.2% of the top 10%

Genome sequencing

19–22tied, of 593.1 papers of credit

1stUS33.6%19–22FI0.5%19–22NL0.5%19–22IT0.5%23–28NO0.4%23–28RU0.4%

University of Naples Federico II0.1% of the top 10%

Supercapacitors

25–29tied, of 86

1stCN46.3%22–24PL0.4%25–29BR0.3%25–29IT0.3%25–29RU0.3%25–29TH0.3%

Politecnico di Torino0.1% of 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 Italy is in the top three

Pilot

Each 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.

1stHuman-robot interaction and collaborative robotsAdvanced robotics, 94 papers28.8%
1stReactor and device design, breeding blankets and economicsNuclear fusion, 96 papers18.7%
2ndTarget detection, tracking and clutter suppressionRadar, 49 papers; behind China 72.0%10.6%
3rdQuantum metrology theory and entanglement-enhanced sensingQuantum sensors, 63 papers; behind China 24.3% and United States 14.2%10.1%
3rdQuantum network architecture, routing and protocolsQuantum communication, 89 papers; behind China 30.5% and United States 18.5%9.0%
3rdResistance mechanisms, epidemiology and clinical treatmentNew antibiotics and antivirals, 83 papers; behind China 20.0% and United States 11.3%8.8%
3rdRenewable-powered hydrogen systems and energy-system optimisationHydrogen by electrolysis, 136 papers; behind China 19.7% and United Kingdom 6.3%5.2%
3rdCeramic printingAdditive manufacturing, 140 papers; behind China 57.6% and United States 7.1%3.9%
3rdProgrammable metasurfaces for wireless and computingMetamaterials, 190 papers; behind China 70.1% and United States 4.8%3.2%
3rdModel architecture, pre-training and scalingLarge language models, 253 papers; behind China 26.9% and United States 23.2%2.5%