A Worldwide Look at the Social Sciences

Western universities continue to dominate the social sciences, but the disciplines are seeing significant growth in Asia and Latin America, according to a new report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Among the findings:

• Two-thirds of social science journals in the world are published in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany.
• In Brazil, the number of social science researchers has nearly tripled in the last decade.
• In China, spending on social sciences has increased 15 to 20 percent a year since 2003.
• Social science research has been in decline in Russia and the other states of the former Soviet Union.
• In Sub-Saharan Africa, three-quarters of publications in the social sciences are from a few universities in three countries: South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.