CH
Switzerland
Switzerland ranks between 5th 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
Quantum computing
5thof 71
1stUS34.9%3rdDE6.0%4thGB5.9%5thCH3.7%6thJP3.4%7thCA3.3%
IBM Research - Zurich1.1% of the top 10%
Genome sequencing
6thof 59
1stUS33.6%4thDE4.7%5thAU3.9%6thCH2.0%7–9KR1.6%7–9CA1.6%
ETH Zurich0.4% of the top 10%
Nuclear fusion
7thof 50
1stUS27.5%5thFR5.3%6thIT5.0%7thCH3.2%8–9JP2.2%8–9ES2.2%
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne3.0% of the top 10%
Gene editing
7thof 77
1stUS32.2%5thDE2.5%6thGB2.4%7thCH1.9%8–11IR1.6%8–11NL1.6%
University of Zurich0.9% of the top 10%
AI chips
8–9tied, of 46
1stCN46.2%6thIN2.3%7thHK2.2%8–9CH1.9%8–9GB1.9%10thIT1.8%
IBM Research - Zurich0.8% of the top 10%
High-performance computing
7–8tied, of 45
1stUS36.3%6thFR3.3%7–8GB2.8%7–8CH2.8%9thIN2.4%10thBR2.0%
ETH Zurich0.9% of the top 10%
Magnets and superconductors
7–8tied, of 58
1stCN35.0%5–6JP4.6%7–8IT2.6%7–8CH2.6%9thNZ2.2%10thFR1.7%
European Organization for Nuclear Research1.2% of the top 10%
Directed energy
7–9tied, of 211.4 papers of credit
1stCN57.5%7–9KR2.2%7–9NL2.2%7–9CH1.6%10–21PT1.1%10–21IT1.0%
University of Neuchâtel1.1% of the top 10%
Advanced robotics
9thof 54
1stCN31.5%7–8KR3.2%7–8AU3.2%9thCH3.0%10thJP2.7%11thSG2.3%
ETH Zurich1.9% of the top 10%
Perovskite solar cells
10–11tied, of 76
1stCN53.9%8–9SA2.1%8–9BD2.0%10–11CH1.6%10–11JP1.6%12thAU1.5%
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne1.3% of the top 10%
Quantum sensors
9–10tied, of 48
1stCN22.5%7–8JP2.9%9–10AU2.4%9–10CH2.1%11–13AT1.5%11–13KR1.4%
ETH Zurich1.1% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
9–10tied, of 55
1stCN45.7%8thES1.5%9–10AU1.2%9–10CH1.1%11–14CA0.9%11–14BE0.8%
ETH Zurich0.7% of the top 10%
Advanced chip manufacturing
11–12tied, of 394.0 papers of credit
1stCN31.8%9–10HK1.3%9–10DE1.3%11–12CH1.0%11–12NL0.8%13–20CA0.6%
Paul Scherrer Institute1.0% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
11–13tied, of 57
1stCN28.9%9–10NL2.5%11–13CA2.1%11–13CH2.0%11–13DK1.9%14–15JP1.3%
University of Geneva0.8% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
12thof 473.2 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%7–11CA1.2%7–11NZ1.2%12thCH0.9%13–19JP0.6%13–19HK0.6%
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology0.5% of the top 10%
Atomic clocks
9–16tied, of 270.9 papers of credit
1stUS38.7%9–16IL0.8%9–16SG0.7%9–16CH0.7%9–16FI0.6%9–16IT0.4%
University of Neuchâtel0.4% of the top 10%
Optical communication
14–15tied, of 54
1stCN38.8%12–13IT1.5%14–15SG1.1%14–15CH1.1%16–19HK1.0%16–19TW0.9%
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne0.5% of the top 10%
Large language models
15–16tied, of 96
1stCN27.4%14thSA1.1%15–16GR1.0%15–16CH1.0%17thTR0.9%18thAE0.8%
ETH Zurich0.2% of the top 10%
Metamaterials
16–20tied, of 73
1stCN55.5%14thCA1.0%15thNL0.7%16–20CH0.5%16–20PK0.5%16–20AE0.5%
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne0.3% of the top 10%
Satellite navigation
17–18tied, of 45
1stCN56.1%14–16BR0.9%14–16JP0.9%17–18CH0.8%17–18SI0.7%19–21BE0.7%
ETH Zurich0.3% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
15–21tied, of 89
1stCN68.0%15–21SE0.3%15–21DK0.3%15–21CH0.3%15–21TH0.3%22–27PK0.2%
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology0.1% of the top 10%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
20thof 70
1stUS38.7%18–19ES0.7%18–19TW0.6%20thCH0.6%21–22DK0.5%21–22PT0.4%
World Health Organization0.1% of the top 10%
Drones and swarming
20–22tied, of 81
1stCN52.2%19thPK0.8%20–22MO0.7%20–22CH0.7%20–22DE0.7%23–26ES0.6%
University of Zurich0.3% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
22–24tied, of 90
1stCN34.0%20–21MY0.8%20–21NL0.8%22–24CH0.7%22–24PL0.7%22–24JP0.7%
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology0.2% of the top 10%
Nuclear fission power
18–25tied, of 642.9 papers of credit
1stCN43.3%18–25MX0.4%18–25FI0.4%18–25CH0.4%18–25MA0.4%26–31MY0.3%
Paul Scherrer Institute0.3% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
18–26tied, of 592.6 papers of credit
1stCN20.4%18–26PL0.8%18–26MY0.8%18–26CH0.8%18–26PT0.7%27–39NL0.6%
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne0.5% of the top 10%
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
23–29tied, of 562.0 papers of credit
1stCN40.8%23–29IE0.3%23–29IQ0.3%23–29CH0.3%23–29AT0.3%23–29HU0.3%
ETH Zurich0.1% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
24–28tied, of 824.7 papers of credit
1stCN30.3%24–28PT0.6%24–28FR0.6%24–28CH0.6%24–28PK0.6%29–32HK0.6%
Roche (Switzerland)0.1% of the top 10%
Hydrogen by electrolysis
26–30tied, of 83
1stCN53.0%26–30FI0.4%26–30NO0.4%26–30CH0.4%26–30PK0.4%26–30SE0.4%
Paul Scherrer Institute0.2% of the top 10%
Inertial navigation
16–29tied, of 400.3 papers of credit
1stCN64.0%16–29BE0.1%16–29SG0.1%16–29CH0.1%30–38NC0.1%30–38LY0.1%
ETH Zurich0.1% of the top 10%
Distributed ledgers
26–29tied, of 103
1stCN20.6%26–29PT0.7%26–29NO0.7%26–29CH0.7%30–32MA0.6%30–32GR0.6%
ETH Zurich0.2% of the top 10%
Radar
33–35tied, of 410.5 papers of credit
1stCN77.0%16–32RU0.1%16–32CO0.1%33–35IL0.1%33–35CH0.1%33–35ES0.1%
Outside the top 30
ETH Zurich0.1% of the top 10%
Hyperspectral imaging
37–39tied, of 540.5 papers of credit
1stCN71.4%27–36MA0.1%27–36PT0.1%37–39EG0.1%37–39KZ0.1%37–39CH0.1%
Outside the top 30
University of Zurich0.0% of the top 10%
Small satellites
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Hypersonic flight
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%.
Critical minerals processing
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%.
Electronic warfare
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
6G and advanced wireless
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Cybersecurity
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Advanced composites
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 Switzerland 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.
- 3rdLegged locomotion and humanoid robotsAdvanced robotics, 66 papers; behind China 35.5% and United States 13.3%13.1%
- 3rdSuperconducting magnet engineering (coils, quench, mechanics)Magnets and superconductors, 100 papers; behind China 42.1% and United States 16.2%6.8%
- 3rdQuantum software, compilers, control and benchmarkingQuantum computing, 181 papers; behind United States 39.7% and Germany 7.4%5.6%
- 3rdSuperconducting qubitsQuantum computing, 233 papers; behind United States 49.9% and China 18.3%3.9%