PK
Pakistan
Pakistan 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
Supercapacitors
5thof 86
1stCN46.3%3rdKR7.3%4thSA3.6%5thPK3.4%6thUS2.3%7thIR1.9%
Bahauddin Zakariya University0.4% of the top 10%
Electronic warfare
4–19tied, of 231.0 papers of credit
1stCN81.0%4–19KR1.0%4–19PT0.8%4–19PK0.8%4–19ZA0.8%4–19FR0.8%
University of Engineering and Technology Lahore0.4% of the top 10%
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
6thof 68
1stCN44.5%4thUS4.2%5thIN4.1%6thPK3.9%7thGB3.0%8thMA2.5%
Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology1.3% of the top 10%
Cybersecurity
7–9tied, of 104
1stCN14.8%6thAU3.7%7–9CA2.8%7–9PK2.8%7–9KR2.8%10thIT2.3%
National University of Sciences and Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Sonar and underwater acoustics
9–14tied, of 373.6 papers of credit
1stCN71.6%9–14JP1.1%9–14SG1.0%9–14PK1.0%9–14GB1.0%9–14IR0.9%
Dawood University of Engineering and Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Distributed ledgers
11–12tied, of 103
1stCN20.6%9thAE2.3%10thCA2.2%11–12PK2.1%11–12HK2.0%13thMY2.0%
National University of Sciences and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Perovskite solar cells
13thof 76
1stCN53.9%10–11JP1.6%12thAU1.5%13thPK1.0%14thIT0.9%15–16CA0.8%
US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy0.1% of the top 10%
Gene editing
13–14tied, of 77
1stUS32.2%12thIT1.4%13–14AU1.1%13–14PK1.1%15thDK0.9%16–18FR0.8%
University of Agriculture Faisalabad0.2% of the top 10%
Directed energy
10–21tied, of 210.4 papers of credit
1stCN57.5%10–21AU0.8%10–21CZ0.6%10–21PK0.4%10–21TR0.2%10–21GR0.1%
University of Okara0.2% of the top 10%
Metamaterials
16–20tied, of 73
1stCN55.5%15thNL0.7%16–20CH0.5%16–20PK0.5%16–20AE0.5%16–20JP0.5%
Information Technology University0.1% of the top 10%
Drones and swarming
19thof 81
1stCN52.2%16–18FR0.9%16–18GR0.8%19thPK0.8%20–22MO0.7%20–22CH0.7%
COMSATS University Islamabad0.2% of the top 10%
Hyperspectral imaging
19–21tied, of 543.4 papers of credit
1stCN71.4%19–21KR0.5%19–21AE0.4%19–21PK0.4%22–26SA0.3%22–26BR0.3%
National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences0.2% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
18–26tied, of 593.1 papers of credit
1stCN20.4%18–26GR0.9%18–26ID0.9%18–26PK0.9%18–26PL0.8%18–26MY0.8%
National University of Sciences and Technology0.4% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
22–27tied, of 89
1stCN68.0%15–21CH0.3%15–21TH0.3%22–27PK0.2%22–27IR0.2%22–27BE0.2%
Lahore University of Management Sciences0.1% of the top 10%
Magnets and superconductors
21–26tied, of 582.5 papers of credit
1stCN35.0%21–26BR0.6%21–26MY0.5%21–26PK0.5%21–26NO0.4%21–26EG0.4%
Government College University, Faisalabad0.2% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
25–30tied, of 552.4 papers of credit
1stCN45.7%20–24PT0.5%20–24IR0.4%25–30PK0.4%25–30PL0.4%25–30TR0.3%
Government College University, Lahore0.1% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
22–26tied, of 572.1 papers of credit
1stCN28.9%22–26HK0.4%22–26HU0.4%22–26PK0.4%27–40TR0.3%27–40FI0.3%
National University of Sciences and Technology0.1% of the top 10%
6G and advanced wireless
26–29tied, of 80
1stCN39.9%22–25BD0.6%22–25EG0.6%26–29PK0.5%26–29MO0.5%26–29IL0.4%
Institute of Space Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Advanced composites
24–30tied, of 684.3 papers of credit
1stCN50.8%24–30HU0.5%24–30IE0.5%24–30PK0.4%24–30NL0.4%24–30BD0.4%
University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar0.2% of the top 10%
Large language models
24–27tied, of 96
1stCN27.4%24–27PL0.4%24–27IL0.4%24–27PK0.4%28–39VN0.3%28–39IR0.3%
National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences0.0% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
20–39tied, of 470.8 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%20–39SE0.3%20–39CZ0.3%20–39PK0.3%20–39ZA0.2%20–39QA0.2%
National University of Sciences and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
24–28tied, of 824.6 papers of credit
1stCN30.3%24–28FR0.6%24–28CH0.6%24–28PK0.6%29–32HK0.6%29–32TH0.5%
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan0.2% of the top 10%
Hydrogen by electrolysis
26–30tied, of 83
1stCN53.0%26–30NO0.4%26–30CH0.4%26–30PK0.4%26–30SE0.4%31–35OM0.3%
National University of Sciences and Technology0.1% of the top 10%
AI chips
29–34tied, of 460.7 papers of credit
1stCN46.2%23–28FI0.2%29–34DK0.1%29–34PK0.1%29–34MX0.1%29–34TN0.1%
The university of Lakki Marwat0.1% of the top 10%
Quantum computing
30–35tied, of 714.4 papers of credit
1stUS34.9%26–29HU0.3%30–35IE0.2%30–35PK0.2%30–35GR0.2%30–35BR0.2%
Outside the top 30
National University of Sciences and Technology0.0% of the top 10%
Small satellites
24–39tied, of 470.8 papers of credit
1stUS13.7%24–39SG0.7%24–39SE0.7%24–39PK0.7%24–39CL0.6%24–39EG0.6%
Outside the top 30
Institute of Space Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Autonomous underwater vehicles
32–38tied, of 440.7 papers of credit
1stCN71.7%21–31MY0.2%21–31PT0.2%32–38PK0.2%32–38AU0.2%32–38SA0.2%
Outside the top 30
University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar0.1% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
30–32tied, of 90
1stCN34.0%30–32EG0.4%30–32RU0.4%30–32PK0.4%33–40FI0.3%33–40HU0.3%
Outside the top 30
University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar0.1% of the top 10%
Nuclear fission power
32–40tied, of 641.4 papers of credit
1stCN43.3%26–31AU0.2%26–31BR0.2%32–40PK0.2%32–40AT0.1%32–40HK0.1%
Outside the top 30
Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences0.2% of the top 10%
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
30–40tied, of 561.2 papers of credit
1stCN40.8%30–40PT0.2%30–40TR0.2%30–40PK0.2%30–40AZ0.2%30–40BG0.1%
Outside the top 30
Quaid-i-Azam University0.1% of the top 10%
Optical communication
33–36tied, of 541.7 papers of credit
1stCN38.8%33–36NL0.3%33–36AE0.3%33–36PK0.3%37–40NZ0.2%37–40BR0.2%
Outside the top 30
Information Technology University0.1% of the top 10%
High-performance computing
36–40tied, of 450.2 papers of credit
1stUS36.3%36–40MX0.1%36–40PT0.1%36–40CA0.1%36–40PK0.1%36–40TR0.1%
Outside the top 30
Grand Asian University, Sialkot0.1% of the top 10%
Atomic clocks
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Hypersonic flight
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Nuclear fusion
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Critical minerals processing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Quantum sensors
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Advanced chip manufacturing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Space launch
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Satellite navigation
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Inertial navigation
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Radar
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Genome sequencing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Advanced robotics
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 Pakistan 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.
- 2ndMetal hydrides and porous materials for solid-state storageHydrogen storage and ammonia fuel, 379 papers; behind China 39.7%9.4%
- 3rdConducting-polymer electrodesSupercapacitors, 139 papers; behind China 31.3% and India 22.1%4.3%