Qatar has secured the top position in engineering and technology research across the Arab world, according to the 2025 Arab Scientific Journals Impact and Citation Report (ARCIF). The milestone reflects Qatar’s rising influence in science and innovation, as highlighted in the report’s tenth annual edition released by the Ma’arefa Database in Amman, Jordan.
Dr. Sami Al Khazendar, head of the ARCIF initiative, stated that the findings “crown a decade of meticulous tracking of Arab scientific periodicals,” noting that the region has witnessed steady growth in research output despite regional challenges.
The 2025 edition analyzed around 5,500 journals from 1,500 institutions across 20 Arab countries and eight foreign publishers, with 1,272 journals meeting 32 international accreditation standards. The data encompassed 364,000 Arab authors, over 956,000 scientific papers, and 111,000 cited researchers.
Comparing with ARCIF’s 2016 report, the latest study recorded a 367% rise in accredited journals, an 870% increase in published articles, and a 6,800% surge in cited Arab authors. Dr. Al Khazendar emphasized that ARCIF has transformed Arab scientific publishing “from invisibility to global recognition,” establishing its impact factor as a trusted regional benchmark aligned with international standards.
While Qatar led in engineering and technology, Egypt ranked first overall in impact, excelling in economics, social sciences, and education. Saudi Arabia dominated in Arabic language and literature, and Palestine achieved top placement in the Immediacy Index through the Palestinian Journal of Open Education and e-Learning. Algeria, meanwhile, led in the number of accredited journals, followed by Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
The ARCIF impact factor is supervised by a coordinating council that includes representatives from UNESCO, ESCWA, and the Ma’arefa Database, alongside a scientific committee of Arab and international experts.
