Research Centers

The University of Pennsylvania (Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at University of Pennsylvania) has published a ranking of the best research centers in the world. The Brookings Institution, based in Washington, is recognized as the winner.

During the preparation of the rating, information about 6,826 research centers of the world was analyzed, the activities of which were evaluated by over 1,900 experts – scientists, journalists, officials, businessmen and philanthropists. The centers were ranked not only by regional basis (for example, the best in Asia), but also by research area (for example, the best in education policy research).

According to the rating, in 2013, 1201 research centers were based in Asia, 662 – in Central and South America, 1818 – in Europe (all post-Soviet states are included here, with the exception of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan), 511 – in the Middle East and North Africa, 1984 in North America, 612 in Sub-Saharan Africa and 38 in Oceania.

According to the study, most of the centers operate in the USA (1828), China (426), Great Britain (287), India (268) and Germany (194).

In other states of the former USSR, the situation is as follows: Belarus – 12 research centers, Latvia – 11, Lithuania – 19, Estonia – 17, Moldova – 9, Ukraine – 47, Armenia – 14, Azerbaijan – 17, Georgia – 13, Kazakhstan – 8, Kyrgyzstan – 10, Tajikistan – 7, Uzbekistan – 8. In Turkmenistan, the authors of the study were unable to find a single research center.

In the United States, the largest concentration of research centers was recorded in the capital of the country – Washington – 395. In Massachusetts there are 176, in California – 173, New York – 145, Virginia – 105.

The Brookings Institution based in Washington is recognized as the best research center in the world.

The top five best centers in the world include: British Chatham House, Belgian Bruegel, Swedish Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), British International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and German Transparency International.

The top 100 also includes the Ukrainian Razumkov Center (56th place) and the Azerbaijan Center for Economic and Social Development (63rd place).

The list of the top ten US research centers is as follows: Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), RAND Corporation, Council on Foreign Relations, International Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholar, Pew Research Center, Heritage Foundation, Cato Institute and Center for American Progress.