The countries with the most 21st century Nobel Prize winners
These are the countries that have produced the most Nobel Prize winners for the sciences in the 21st century.
The rankings, produced by Times Higher Education, are based on the winners between 2000 and 2016, and are weighted according to the number of prizewinners per category. Prizes for peace and literature are excluded.
The U.S. tops the list, followed by the UK.
The report also looked at which universities have produced the most Nobel laureates since 2000. Of the top ten, nine are American institutions, with Princeton University taking the top spot.
Phil Baty, the THE rankings editor, warned that today’s funding practices could be stifling the kind of groundbreaking research recognised by the Nobel Prizes.
‘Increasingly, the demand from governments that fund university research is for clear, short-term outcomes, with obvious and immediate applications, and the demand from university administrators is for a steady stream of research publications,’ he said.
‘In today’s tighter, tougher climate, it seems clear that much of the work that has won Nobel prizes over the years might not have taken place – it would have been deemed too risky, or to esoteric, or to be taking too long.’