Science in Spanish

Despite the hegemony of English, Spanish is the second language in which the most scientific texts are written, practically double the number of publications in Mandarin Chinese.

The percentage of involvement of all Spanish-speaking countries in global scientific output saw constant growth between 1996 and 2014.

Currently, Spain is the 10th country in the world in the production of scientific texts. Almost 70% of scientific documents in Spanish-speaking countries are published in Spain.

One of the most important databases in the scientific field in Spanish is Latindex.  This is a directory specialized in collecting and promoting bibliographic information from scientific publications in Latin America.

In 2022, Latindex had 34,733 publications, of which 44% are dedicated to social sciences, 15% to medical sciences, and 13% to the humanities.

Spanish has a significant presence in the publication of scientific articles in fields such as paleontology, mycology, archeology, medicine, construction technology, and robotics.

If we measure the impact of scientific publications according to the language in which they are written, Spanish ranks fifth.

The boom in serial publications in Spanish between 2009 and 2021 is very significant, reflecting a growth of 30%, surpassing German (10%) and French (3%).

Spain, Argentina, and Colombia are the countries with the most serial scientific publications in Spanish in the ISSN.

The digital transformation of book publishing as well as open publication is contributing to the internationalization of Spanish in scientific production. The use of technology favors the promotion and reach of publications written in this language.