SA
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia ranks between 2nd and 39th 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
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
2–3tied, of 68
1stCN44.5%2–3SA4.5%2–3AU4.5%4thUS4.2%5thIN4.1%
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals2.0% of the top 10%
Cybersecurity
3rdof 104
1stCN14.8%2ndIN11.9%3rdSA8.4%4thUS7.6%5thGB3.8%
King Saud University0.9% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
4thof 59
1stCN20.4%2ndIN12.5%3rdUS9.8%4thSA5.3%5thKR4.3%6thGB3.4%
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals0.8% of the top 10%
Supercapacitors
4thof 86
1stCN46.3%2ndIN13.9%3rdKR7.3%4thSA3.6%5thPK3.4%6thUS2.3%
King Saud University0.7% of the top 10%
Distributed ledgers
5thof 103
1stCN20.6%3rdUS6.7%4thGB4.8%5thSA4.3%6thAU3.7%7thIT2.7%
King Saud University0.5% of the top 10%
Sonar and underwater acoustics
5–8tied, of 37
1stCN71.6%4thIN2.0%5–8CA1.6%5–8SA1.6%5–8AU1.6%5–8PL1.4%
Naif Arab University for Security Sciences0.3% of the top 10%
Drones and swarming
6–7tied, of 81
1stCN52.2%5thCA2.6%6–7IN2.1%6–7SA2.1%8thAU1.9%9–10HK1.8%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.5% of the top 10%
Perovskite solar cells
8–9tied, of 76
1stCN53.9%5–6IN3.9%7thGB2.3%8–9SA2.1%8–9BD2.0%10–11CH1.6%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology1.0% of the top 10%
Hydrogen by electrolysis
8thof 83
1stCN53.0%6thIN2.5%7thGB2.3%8thSA1.7%9thCA1.5%10thSG1.4%
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals0.5% of the top 10%
6G and advanced wireless
8thof 80
1stCN39.9%6thKR3.0%7thIN2.5%8thSA2.3%9–10HK2.2%9–10DE2.2%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology1.2% of the top 10%
Hypersonic flight
9–11tied, of 283.2 papers of credit
1stCN65.9%8thIR1.3%9–11FR0.9%9–11SA0.9%9–11GB0.8%12–17IQ0.7%
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals0.3% of the top 10%
AI chips
11–13tied, of 46
1stCN46.2%8–9GB1.9%10thIT1.8%11–13SA1.3%11–13TW1.2%11–13ES1.2%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology1.2% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
11–12tied, of 82
1stCN30.3%8–9IR2.2%10thCA2.1%11–12SA1.9%11–12ES1.9%13–15MX1.3%
King Abdulaziz University0.6% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
11–13tied, of 89
1stCN68.0%10thSG0.8%11–13JP0.5%11–13SA0.5%11–13ES0.5%14thFR0.4%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Metamaterials
12thof 73
1stCN55.5%10thIR1.6%11thFR1.4%12thSA1.2%13thIT1.1%14thCA1.0%
Najran University0.2% of the top 10%
Magnets and superconductors
12–16tied, of 584.8 papers of credit
1stCN35.0%10thFR1.7%11thIR1.3%12–16SA1.0%12–16RU1.0%12–16KR0.9%
King Saud University0.3% of the top 10%
Optical communication
12–13tied, of 54
1stCN38.8%10–11BE1.6%10–11KR1.6%12–13SA1.5%12–13IT1.5%14–15SG1.1%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology1.0% of the top 10%
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
13–17tied, of 56
1stCN40.8%11thHK1.3%12thAU1.0%13–17SA0.9%13–17SE0.9%13–17ES0.8%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.8% of the top 10%
Large language models
14thof 96
1stCN27.4%12thJP1.4%13thES1.2%14thSA1.1%15–16GR1.0%15–16CH1.0%
Prince Sultan University0.2% of the top 10%
High-performance computing
14–21tied, of 452.6 papers of credit
1stUS36.3%11–13SE1.1%14–21JP1.0%14–21SA0.9%14–21NL0.9%14–21CZ0.8%
University of Hafr Al-Batin0.4% of the top 10%
Advanced composites
15–18tied, of 68
1stCN50.8%12–14CA0.9%12–14JP0.9%15–18SA0.8%15–18PT0.8%15–18HK0.8%
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Nuclear fission power
14–17tied, of 644.5 papers of credit
1stCN43.3%14–17AE0.7%14–17JP0.7%14–17SA0.6%14–17BE0.6%18–25ID0.5%
Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University0.2% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
13–19tied, of 471.2 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%13–19IR0.5%13–19IE0.4%13–19SA0.4%13–19VN0.3%13–19IT0.3%
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals0.3% of the top 10%
Critical minerals processing
17–22tied, of 583.6 papers of credit
1stCN43.0%14–15BE1.2%16thTR1.1%17–22SA0.8%17–22SG0.7%17–22IR0.7%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.6% of the top 10%
Gene editing
16–18tied, of 77
1stUS32.2%16–18FR0.8%16–18ES0.8%16–18SA0.7%19–21TR0.6%19–21BE0.6%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.3% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
17–19tied, of 90
1stCN34.0%17–19AE0.9%17–19HK0.9%17–19SA0.9%20–21MY0.8%20–21NL0.8%
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals0.2% of the top 10%
Radar
16–32tied, of 411.1 papers of credit
1stCN77.0%16–32JP0.2%16–32VN0.2%16–32SA0.2%16–32FR0.2%16–32DZ0.2%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Directed energy
10–21tied, of 210.1 papers of credit
1stCN57.5%10–21GR0.1%10–21KW0.1%10–21PL0.1%10–21SA0.1%10–21CA0.1%
Taif University0.1% of the top 10%
Electronic warfare
20–23tied, of 230.1 papers of credit
1stCN81.0%4–19GR0.2%20–23LB0.1%20–23SA0.1%20–23JP0.1%20–23LU0.1%
King Abdulaziz University0.1% of the top 10%
Inertial navigation
16–29tied, of 400.7 papers of credit
1stCN64.0%16–29ID0.3%16–29KR0.3%16–29SA0.2%16–29SE0.2%16–29AT0.2%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Hyperspectral imaging
22–26tied, of 542.9 papers of credit
1stCN71.4%19–21AE0.4%19–21PK0.4%22–26SA0.3%22–26BR0.3%22–26PL0.3%
King Saud University0.1% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
20–24tied, of 553.0 papers of credit
1stCN45.7%20–24AT0.5%20–24SG0.5%20–24SA0.5%20–24PT0.5%20–24IR0.4%
Umm al-Qura University0.2% of the top 10%
Quantum computing
22–25tied, of 71
1stUS34.9%20–21PL0.5%22–25IL0.4%22–25SA0.4%22–25TW0.4%22–25AE0.4%
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University0.1% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
22–26tied, of 572.7 papers of credit
1stCN28.9%21stSE0.7%22–26BE0.5%22–26SA0.5%22–26HK0.4%22–26HU0.4%
Taif University0.2% of the top 10%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
23–30tied, of 703.3 papers of credit
1stUS38.7%21–22DK0.5%21–22PT0.4%23–30SA0.3%23–30NO0.3%23–30TH0.3%
King Saud University0.1% of the top 10%
Advanced chip manufacturing
21–33tied, of 390.7 papers of credit
1stCN31.8%21–33SE0.3%21–33ES0.2%21–33SA0.2%21–33TN0.2%21–33EG0.2%
King Saud University0.1% of the top 10%
Genome sequencing
23–28tied, of 591.7 papers of credit
1stUS33.6%23–28TR0.3%23–28ET0.3%23–28SA0.3%29–36MX0.2%29–36TH0.2%
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Autonomous underwater vehicles
32–38tied, of 440.6 papers of credit
1stCN71.7%32–38PK0.2%32–38AU0.2%32–38SA0.2%32–38FI0.1%32–38KZ0.1%
Outside the top 30
Dar Al-Hekma University0.0% of the top 10%
Advanced robotics
31–39tied, of 541.8 papers of credit
1stCN31.5%31–39TR0.3%31–39BR0.3%31–39SA0.3%31–39BD0.2%31–39CO0.2%
Outside the top 30
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology0.1% of the top 10%
Atomic clocks
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Small satellites
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Nuclear fusion
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Quantum sensors
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%.
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 Saudi Arabia 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.
- 2ndIntrusion detection for IoT and industrial IoTCybersecurity, 708 papers; behind India 15.7%11.6%
- 2ndThreat surveys, AI for security and organisational resilienceCybersecurity, 317 papers; behind United States 14.8%8.0%
- 2ndAmmonia combustion in engines and turbinesHydrogen storage and ammonia fuel, 90 papers; behind China 56.2%7.0%
- 3rdQuantum-safe authentication protocols (IoT, vehicles, health)Post-quantum cryptography, 60 papers; behind China 23.4% and India 23.1%11.3%
- 3rdMalware and software-vulnerability detectionCybersecurity, 418 papers; behind China 17.6% and India 10.5%8.9%
- 3rdHealthcare and medical dataDistributed ledgers, 276 papers; behind India 25.4% and China 14.8%8.8%
- 3rdIoT security, authentication and access controlDistributed ledgers, 230 papers; behind China 18.6% and India 15.1%8.7%
- 3rdNetwork intrusion detection methods and datasetsCybersecurity, 757 papers; behind China 15.9% and India 15.9%7.2%
- 3rdFederated and privacy-preserving intrusion detectionCybersecurity, 181 papers; behind China 25.7% and India 7.1%7.1%
- 3rdMetamaterial sensors (terahertz and optical)Metamaterials, 287 papers; behind China 46.9% and India 11.7%6.3%