If global rankings have a material grounding it is in research and science. The chapter discusses five empirical characteristics of the global science system, which is defined by the two principal bibliometric collections, Scopus and Web of Science. First, growth of almost 5 per cent a year in papers. Second, the spread of national science systems to middle-income countries, and some low-income countries, so that capacity is more broadly dispersed on the global scale. Third, the growth of networked collaboration at both global and national levels. Fourth, some diversification of leading research countries, so that global science power is increasingly multi-polar. The United States (US) is still the leading country in research and higher education, but US and Europe are not as dominant as they were. China now surpasses Europe in weight, and a group of middle countries (e.g. South Korea, India, Iran, Brazil) are building independent national capacity. However, while nations may see themselves as comparing and competing in science, global relations between scientists appear to be primarily disciplinary and collaborative. Fifth, many papers fall outside Scopus and Web of Science, including nearly all published in languages other than English, many from emerging countries, most of the social sciences and almost all of the humanities. This imparts to globally recognised knowledge - and hence to the university rankings that rest on global science bibliometrics - a very pronounced bias in favour of the Anglophone (especially) and Western European academic worlds.
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