NL
Netherlands
Netherlands 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
Quantum sensors
7–8tied, of 48
1stCN22.5%5thFR5.2%6thIT3.3%7–8NL3.0%7–8JP2.9%9–10AU2.4%
University Medical Center Groningen1.0% of the top 10%
Quantum computing
8–9tied, of 71
1stUS34.9%6thJP3.4%7thCA3.3%8–9NL3.0%8–9AU2.9%10thIT2.8%
Delft University of Technology1.1% of the top 10%
Directed energy
7–9tied, of 212.0 papers of credit
1stCN57.5%5–6RU3.2%7–9KR2.2%7–9NL2.2%7–9CH1.6%10–21PT1.1%
University of Twente2.2% of the top 10%
Gene editing
8–11tied, of 77
1stUS32.2%7thCH1.9%8–11IR1.6%8–11NL1.6%8–11CA1.6%8–11JP1.5%
Wageningen University & Research0.5% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
9–10tied, of 57
1stCN28.9%6–8IN3.1%9–10FR2.5%9–10NL2.5%11–13CA2.1%11–13CH2.0%
Delft University of Technology0.9% of the top 10%
Small satellites
8–14tied, of 473.1 papers of credit
1stUS13.7%8–14DE2.5%8–14AU2.5%8–14NL2.5%8–14GB2.5%8–14RU2.0%
Delft University of Technology1.6% of the top 10%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
10–11tied, of 70
1stUS38.7%9thKR2.2%10–11IT1.8%10–11NL1.8%12–13IN1.6%12–13SE1.5%
University Medical Center Utrecht0.5% of the top 10%
Advanced chip manufacturing
11–12tied, of 393.2 papers of credit
1stCN31.8%9–10DE1.3%11–12CH1.0%11–12NL0.8%13–20CA0.6%13–20AU0.6%
ASML (Netherlands)0.4% of the top 10%
Radar
10–15tied, of 412.3 papers of credit
1stCN77.0%10–15FI0.5%10–15CA0.4%10–15NL0.4%10–15HK0.4%10–15BE0.3%
Delft University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Nuclear fusion
13thof 50
1stUS27.5%11thRU1.3%12thSE1.1%13thNL0.9%14thCZ0.7%15–16IN0.6%
Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research0.4% of the top 10%
Advanced robotics
13thof 54
1stCN31.5%11thSG2.3%12thFR1.8%13thNL1.6%14thCA1.3%15thES1.1%
Delft University of Technology0.8% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
11–14tied, of 55
1stCN45.7%11–14BE0.8%11–14FR0.8%11–14NL0.8%15–19SE0.7%15–19IT0.7%
Wageningen University & Research0.4% of the top 10%
Metamaterials
15thof 73
1stCN55.5%13thIT1.1%14thCA1.0%15thNL0.7%16–20CH0.5%16–20PK0.5%
Delft University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
AI chips
16thof 46
1stCN46.2%14–15FR1.2%14–15AU1.2%16thNL0.9%17–19CA0.7%17–19JP0.6%
Eindhoven University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
High-performance computing
14–21tied, of 452.4 papers of credit
1stUS36.3%14–21JP1.0%14–21SA0.9%14–21NL0.9%14–21CZ0.8%14–21RU0.8%
Delft University of Technology0.4% of the top 10%
Electronic warfare
4–19tied, of 230.3 papers of credit
1stCN81.0%4–19HK0.4%4–19GB0.4%4–19NL0.3%4–19QA0.3%4–19GR0.2%
Eindhoven University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Hydrogen by electrolysis
17–20tied, of 83
1stCN53.0%13–16JP0.9%17–20TW0.7%17–20NL0.7%17–20TR0.7%17–20IR0.7%
Delft University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Perovskite solar cells
19–20tied, of 76
1stCN53.9%17thES0.7%18thTW0.6%19–20NL0.5%19–20SE0.5%21–23MO0.4%
Eindhoven University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
17–21tied, of 82
1stCN30.3%17–21EG1.0%17–21BD1.0%17–21NL1.0%17–21ZA1.0%17–21RO0.9%
University of Groningen0.1% of the top 10%
Hypersonic flight
18–24tied, of 280.9 papers of credit
1stCN65.9%18–24BR0.3%18–24TR0.3%18–24NL0.2%18–24CA0.2%18–24SE0.1%
Delft University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Magnets and superconductors
17–20tied, of 583.2 papers of credit
1stCN35.0%17–20CA0.8%17–20DK0.7%17–20NL0.7%21–26SE0.6%21–26BR0.6%
University of Twente0.4% of the top 10%
Large language models
21stof 96
1stCN27.4%19–20FR0.7%19–20SE0.7%21stNL0.6%22–23PT0.5%22–23MO0.4%
Delft University of Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
20–21tied, of 90
1stCN34.0%17–19SA0.9%20–21MY0.8%20–21NL0.8%22–24CH0.7%22–24PL0.7%
Delft University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Critical minerals processing
17–22tied, of 582.8 papers of credit
1stCN43.0%17–22IR0.7%17–22SE0.6%17–22NL0.6%17–22PL0.6%23–33MA0.6%
Leiden University0.3% of the top 10%
Nuclear fission power
18–25tied, of 643.0 papers of credit
1stCN43.3%18–25SE0.5%18–25TR0.5%18–25NL0.4%18–25MX0.4%18–25FI0.4%
Delft University of Technology0.4% of the top 10%
Genome sequencing
19–22tied, of 593.2 papers of credit
1stUS33.6%19–22IL0.6%19–22FI0.5%19–22NL0.5%19–22IT0.5%23–28NO0.4%
Wageningen University & Research0.1% of the top 10%
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
20–21tied, of 68
1stCN44.5%17–19NO1.1%20–21FR1.0%20–21NL0.9%22–25SG0.6%22–25NZ0.6%
Delft University of Technology0.7% of the top 10%
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
23–29tied, of 562.9 papers of credit
1stCN40.8%19–22SG0.5%19–22CA0.5%23–29NL0.4%23–29BD0.4%23–29IE0.3%
Delft University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Satellite navigation
22–27tied, of 453.5 papers of credit
1stCN56.1%19–21SG0.6%22–27AT0.5%22–27NL0.5%22–27TR0.5%22–27HR0.5%
Delft University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
20–39tied, of 471.0 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%20–39BE0.3%20–39RO0.3%20–39NL0.3%20–39SE0.3%20–39CZ0.3%
Delft University of Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
27–39tied, of 592.1 papers of credit
1stCN20.4%18–26CH0.8%18–26PT0.7%27–39NL0.6%27–39BD0.6%27–39MA0.6%
NXP (Netherlands)0.4% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
22–27tied, of 89
1stCN68.0%22–27TR0.2%22–27FI0.2%22–27NL0.2%28–40PT0.1%28–40MO0.1%
Delft University of Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Advanced composites
24–30tied, of 684.3 papers of credit
1stCN50.8%24–30IE0.5%24–30PK0.4%24–30NL0.4%24–30BD0.4%24–30PL0.4%
Delft University of Technology0.4% of the top 10%
Hyperspectral imaging
27–36tied, of 541.3 papers of credit
1stCN71.4%22–26HU0.2%27–36FI0.2%27–36NL0.1%27–36NO0.1%27–36IS0.1%
European Space Research and Technology Centre0.1% of the top 10%
Drones and swarming
30–33tied, of 81
1stCN52.2%30–33MX0.4%30–33BD0.4%30–33NL0.4%34–36EG0.3%34–36LU0.3%
Outside the top 30
Delft University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Optical communication
33–36tied, of 542.3 papers of credit
1stCN38.8%26–32QA0.4%33–36FI0.4%33–36NL0.3%33–36AE0.3%33–36PK0.3%
Outside the top 30
University of Twente0.1% of the top 10%
Inertial navigation
30–38tied, of 400.2 papers of credit
1stCN64.0%30–38KZ0.1%30–38MY0.1%30–38MX0.1%30–38JO0.1%30–38NL0.1%
Outside the top 30
Delft University of Technology0.0% of the top 10%
Cybersecurity
37–40tied, of 104
1stCN14.8%34–36ID0.4%37–40NO0.3%37–40VN0.3%37–40NL0.3%37–40DE0.3%
Outside the top 30
Delft University of Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Atomic clocks
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Autonomous underwater vehicles
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Supercapacitors
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Space launch
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Sonar and underwater acoustics
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
6G and advanced wireless
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
Where Netherlands 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.
- 1stSpin and semiconductor qubitsQuantum computing, 128 papers23.1%