Researchers from Brazilian institutions published 69,656 articles in 2023—an average of 190 per day. This number, however, represents a 7.2% decline in scientific output since 2022, when the first drop was recorded since 1996 (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue n° 331). It is the first time that Brazil’s scientific output has fallen for two years in a row, according to a report issued by Dutch academic publishing company Elsevier and Agência Bori. The report covered 53 countries that published more than 10,000 scientific articles in 2022 and 2023. Publication output also fell in 34 other countries (12 more than in the previous year), while it increased in 17 and remained stable in just one: Austria. Taiwan and Ethiopia showed the largest falls in scientific production, just below Brazil. The decline in the number of articles published was largely associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, which interrupted many research projects, as well as limited economic growth, which was reflected in a lack of funding for scientific research. According to the report, federal investment in research and development has been decreasing in Brazil since 2013 and the budget in 2023 was 76% of its 2015 value. It reached its lowest in 2021, when 71% of the 2015 amount was invested (report by Agência Bori, July 30).
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