Scientific production of Peru and Ecuador: A comparative bibliometric analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47909/ijsmc.285

Keywords:

bibliometrics, scientific production, Peru, Ecuador, SCImago, scientific growth

Abstract

Objective. This study compared the scientific production of Peru and Ecuador between 1996 and 2024, analyzing its evolution, impact, and growth based on bibliometric indicators derived from SCImago Journal & Country Rank (SCImago).

Design/Methodology/Approach. A descriptive and comparative bibliometric study with a quantitative approach was developed. The data were obtained from SCImago in June 2025, based on information from Scopus. The indicators of production (total and citable documents), impact (total citations, H-index, and citations per document), and growth (annual production, growth rates, and global and regional participation) were analyzed. The period covered 1996–2024 and allowed for the evaluation of longitudinal trends linked to scientific and institutional reforms in both countries.

Results/Discussion. Peru had a higher cumulative output (77,771 documents) than Ecuador (60,731), as well as a higher impact in terms of total citations, citations per document, and H-index. However, Ecuador experienced rapid growth between 2016 and 2020, temporarily surpassing Peru in annual output. Starting in 2021, Peru regained and expanded its leadership, reaching a maximum difference of 2,706 documents in 2024. Both countries increased their share of global production: Peru reached 0.26% and Ecuador 0.19% in 2024.

Conclusions. Peru maintains a structural advantage in volume and scientific impact, while Ecuador’s growth shows remarkable dynamism, although less sustainable over time. Both countries have improved their international presence, but they require stable policies and sustained investment to consolidate their competitiveness in the regional and global context.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Banco Mundial. (2024). Research and development expenditure (% of GDP): Ecuador and Peru (2000–2023). https://data360.worldbank.org/en/indicator/WB_WDI_GB_XPD_RSDV_GD_ZS?view=datatable

Bornmann, L., & Haunschild, R. (2019). Medición del impacto social de los artículos de investigación. In Manual de indicadores de ciencia y tecnología de Springer (pp. 609–632). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02511-3_23 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02511-3_23

Da Costa, M. G. (2024). Áreas temáticas dominantes en la producción científica andina: Un estudio de especialización disciplinaria en Perú, Ecuador, Bolivia y Colombia. Horizontes. Revista de Investigación en Ciencias de la Educación, 8(35), 2659–2669. https://doi.org/10.33996/revistahorizontes.v8i35.895 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33996/revistahorizontes.v8i35.895

Flores Rivera, A. R. (2025). Universidades andinas y su rol en la producción de conocimiento. Revista Simón Rodríguez, 5(10), 169–179. https://doi.org/10.62319/simonrodriguez.v.5i10.54 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62319/simonrodriguez.v.5i10.54

Flores-Fernandez, C., & Aguilera-Eguia, R. (2018). Indicadores bibliométricos y su importancia en la investigación clínica. ¿Por qué conocerlos? Revista de la Sociedad Española del Dolor. https://doi.org/10.20986/resed.2018.3659/2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20986/resed.2018.3659/2018

García-Pachón, E., & Arencibia-Jorge, R. (2014). Comparación del factor de impacto y el índice SCImago Journal Rank en las revistas del sistema respiratorio. Archivos de Bronconeumologia, 50(7), 308–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arbres.2013.10.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arbres.2013.10.006

García-Villar, C., & García-Santos, J. M. (2021). Indicadores bibliométricos para evaluar la actividad científica. Radiología (Edición en inglés), 63(3), 228–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rxeng.2021.01.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rx.2021.01.002

Hernández Lara, P. (2025). Acceso abierto y democratización del conocimiento en los andes: Un análisis cuantitativo. Concordia, 5(10), 96–108. https://doi.org/10.62319/concordia.v.5i10.42 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62319/concordia.v.5i10.42

Herrera-Franco, G., Montalván-Burbano, N., Mora-Frank, C., & Bravo-Montero, L. (2021). Scientific research in Ecuador: A bibliometric analysis. Publications, 9(4), 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications9040055 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/publications9040055

Joshi, M. A. (2014). Bibliometric indicators for evaluating the quality of scientific publications. The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice, 15(2), 258–262. https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10024-1525 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10024-1525

Limachi Apaza, S. (2025a). Movilidad académica e impacto en la producción científica: un análisis cuantitativo. Horizontes. Revista de Investigación en Ciencias de la Educación, 9(40), 804–817. https://doi.org/10.33996/revistahorizontes.v9i40.1176 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33996/revistahorizontes.v9i40.1176

Limachi Apaza, S. (2025b). Brechas de financiamiento en ciencia y tecnología: Un análisis cuantitativo global. Revista Boliviana de Educación, 7(13), 136–146. https://doi.org/10.61287/rebe.v7i13.1200 DOI: https://doi.org/10.61287/rebe.v7i13.1200

Limaymanta Alvarez, C. H., Zulueta-Rafael, H., Restrepo-Arango, C., & Alvarez-Muñoz, P. (2020). Análisis bibliométrico y cienciométrico de la producción científica de Perú y Ecuador desde Web of Science (2009–2018). Información, cultura y sociedad, (43), 31–52. https://doi.org/10.34096/ics.i43.7926 DOI: https://doi.org/10.34096/ics.i43.7926

Lundvall, B.-Å., Joseph, K. J., Chaminade, C., & Vang, J. (2022). Handbook of innovation systems and developing countries. Edward Elgar. https://cristinachaminade.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/chapter-6-padilla-et-al-published-r.pdf

Narayan, A., Chogtu, B., Janodia, M., Radhakrishnan, R., & Venkata, S. K. (2023). A bibliometric analysis of publication output in selected South American countries. F1000Research, 12, 1239. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.134574.1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.134574.1

Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO). (2024). Science, technology and innovation indicators 2024. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/science-technology-and-innovation-indicators.html

Red de Indicadores de Ciencia y Tecnología (RICYT). (2024). Indicadores de ciencia y tecnología en Iberoamérica e Interamericana 2023. RICYT. https://n9.cl/2veq3w

Roa González, D. M. (2025). Internacionalización de la Ciencia en los Andes: Un Análisis Cuantitativo de la Colaboración y Producción Científica. Revista Paraguaya de Pedagogía, 2(5), 2–12. https://doi.org/10.33996/rpp.v2i5.20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33996/rpp.v2i5.20

Rodríguez, V., Flores-Sanchez, M., Zambrano, C. H., Rincón, L., Paz, J. L., & Torres, F. J. (2022). Analysis of Ecuador’s SCOPUS scientific production during the 2001–2020 period by means of standardized citation indicators. Heliyon, 8(4), Article e09329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09329 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09329

Scimago Research Group. (2024). SJR country rankings 2024. https://www.scimagojr.com

Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENESCYT). (2019). Programa Prometeo: Fomento de la investigación científica en Ecuador. SENESCYT.

Solano López, E., Castellanos, S., López Pumar, P., & Hernández Fernández, L. (2009). La bibliometría: una herramienta eficaz para evaluar la actividad científica postgraduada. MediSur, 7(4), 59–62. http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1727-897X2009000400011

Turpo-Gebera, O., Limaymanta, C. H., & Sanz-Casado, E. (2021). Producción científica y tecnológica de Perú en el contexto sudamericano: Un análisis cienciométrico. Profesional de la información, 30(5), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.sep.15 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.sep.15

Zacca-González, G., Chinchilla-Rodríguez, Z., Vargas-Quesada, B., & de Moya-Anegón, F. (2014). Bibliometric analysis of regional Latin America's scientific output in Public Health through SCImago Journal & Country Rank. BMC Public Health, 14, Article 632. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-632 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-632

Downloads

Published

2025-12-17

How to Cite

Herrera Freire, A. G., Herrera Freire, A. H., Córdova Ramos, C. A., Meneses Cariapaza, L. M., & Mamani Maron, B. V. (2025). Scientific production of Peru and Ecuador: A comparative bibliometric analysis. Iberoamerican Journal of Science Measurement and Communication, 6(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.47909/ijsmc.285

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Original article

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Alexander Geovanny Herrera Freire, Alex Humberto Herrera Freire, César Antonio Córdova Ramos, Luz María Meneses Cariapaza, Beatriz Vilma Mamani Maron

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0, which permits copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format, adapting, transforming, and building upon the material as long as the license terms are followed.