Which countries lead research in critical technologies

The large circle is the leader and the bar is its distance from second place; the multiple is the leader's share divided by the runner-up's. Grey dots are the next eight countries. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 23 October 2026. Download these numbers Method

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Technology	First	Second	Third	China	United States
Electronic warfare	China 81.0%	Canada 2.1%	United States 1.4%	1st, 81.0%	3rd, 1.4%
Radar	China 77.0%	United States 2.9%	United Kingdom 2.8%	1st, 77.0%	2nd, 2.9%
Autonomous underwater vehicles	China 71.7%	United States 3.7%	United Kingdom 2.4%	1st, 71.7%	2nd, 3.7%
Sonar and underwater acoustics	China 71.6%	United States 4.1%	Italy 2.9%	1st, 71.6%	2nd, 4.1%
Hyperspectral imaging	China 71.4%	United States 4.2%	India 2.4%	1st, 71.4%	2nd, 4.2%
Advanced aircraft engines	China 64.6%	United States 4.9%	United Kingdom 4.3%	1st, 64.6%	2nd, 4.9%
Hydrogen by electrolysis	China 53.0%	South Korea 4.6%	United States 4.4%	1st, 53.0%	3rd, 4.4%
Directed energy	China 57.5%	Germany 5.6%	United Kingdom 4.3%	1st, 57.5%	4th, 4.3%
Drones and swarming	China 52.2%	United States 5.1%	United Kingdom 3.8%	1st, 52.2%	2nd, 5.1%
Satellite navigation	China 56.1%	United States 5.5%	Germany 3.9%	1st, 56.1%	2nd, 5.5%
Inertial navigation	China 64.0%	United States 6.4%	Canada 3.7%	1st, 64.0%	2nd, 6.4%
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel	China 44.5%	Saudi Arabia 4.5%	Australia 4.5%	1st, 44.5%	4th, 4.2%
Hypersonic flight	China 65.9%	United States 7.4%	India 6.0%	1st, 65.9%	2nd, 7.4%
Electric batteries	China 68.0%	United States 7.6%	South Korea 3.4%	1st, 68.0%	2nd, 7.6%
Advanced composites	China 50.8%	United States 6.0%	United Kingdom 5.6%	1st, 50.8%	2nd, 6.0%
Perovskite solar cells	China 53.9%	United States 6.5%	South Korea 4.6%	1st, 53.9%	2nd, 6.5%
Metamaterials	China 55.5%	United States 8.8%	South Korea 4.0%	1st, 55.5%	2nd, 8.8%
6G and advanced wireless	China 39.9%	United Kingdom 9.0%	United States 6.2%	1st, 39.9%	3rd, 6.2%
AI chips	China 46.2%	South Korea 12.1%	United States 11.6%	1st, 46.2%	3rd, 11.6%
Supercapacitors	China 46.3%	India 13.9%	South Korea 7.3%	1st, 46.3%	6th, 2.3%
Optical communication	China 38.8%	United States 12.4%	Canada 3.5%	1st, 38.8%	2nd, 12.4%
Critical minerals processing	China 43.0%	United States 13.8%	Australia 4.3%	1st, 43.0%	2nd, 13.8%
Quantum computing	United States 34.9%	China 11.2%	Germany 6.0%	2nd, 11.2%	1st, 34.9%
Synthetic biology	China 45.7%	United States 15.0%	South Korea 5.0%	1st, 45.7%	2nd, 15.0%
Additive manufacturing	China 34.0%	United States 11.3%	India 6.7%	1st, 34.0%	2nd, 11.3%
Space launch	China 34.8%	United States 12.3%	South Korea 8.9%	1st, 34.8%	2nd, 12.3%
High-performance computing	United States 36.3%	China 13.9%	Germany 7.5%	2nd, 13.9%	1st, 36.3%
Magnets and superconductors	China 35.0%	United States 14.2%	United Kingdom 5.7%	1st, 35.0%	2nd, 14.2%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics	United States 38.7%	China 16.1%	Germany 3.5%	2nd, 16.1%	1st, 38.7%
Wide-bandgap semiconductors	China 40.8%	United States 18.6%	Japan 5.3%	1st, 40.8%	2nd, 18.6%
Quantum communication	China 28.9%	United States 14.1%	Germany 7.6%	1st, 28.9%	2nd, 14.1%
New antibiotics and antivirals	China 30.3%	United States 15.3%	India 4.7%	1st, 30.3%	2nd, 15.3%
Advanced robotics	China 31.5%	United States 16.0%	Italy 6.4%	1st, 31.5%	2nd, 16.0%
Nuclear fission power	China 43.3%	United States 22.1%	South Korea 4.4%	1st, 43.3%	2nd, 22.1%
Atomic clocks	United States 38.7%	China 19.9%	Germany 11.5%	2nd, 19.9%	1st, 38.7%
Advanced chip manufacturing	China 31.8%	India 16.6%	United States 15.0%	1st, 31.8%	3rd, 15.0%
Nuclear fusion	United States 27.5%	China 14.8%	Germany 11.8%	2nd, 14.8%	1st, 27.5%
Distributed ledgers	China 20.6%	India 12.4%	United States 6.7%	1st, 20.6%	3rd, 6.7%
Post-quantum cryptography	China 20.4%	India 12.5%	United States 9.8%	1st, 20.4%	3rd, 9.8%
Large language models	China 27.4%	United States 19.4%	United Kingdom 3.7%	1st, 27.4%	2nd, 19.4%
Cybersecurity	China 14.8%	India 11.9%	Saudi Arabia 8.4%	1st, 14.8%	4th, 7.6%
Genome sequencing	United States 33.6%	China 27.6%	United Kingdom 5.0%	2nd, 27.6%	1st, 33.6%
Gene editing	United States 32.2%	China 27.4%	South Korea 4.2%	2nd, 27.4%	1st, 32.2%
Small satellites	United States 13.7%	China 12.9%	Italy 11.5%	2nd, 12.9%	1st, 13.7%
Quantum sensors	China 22.5%	United States 21.5%	Germany 10.2%	1st, 22.5%	2nd, 21.5%

45 technologies and 517,481 papers published 2021–2025. The summary table is free to reuse with attribution, including commercially.

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