  Based on the Science Citation IndexExpanded webversion, the USA is still by
far the strongest nation in terms of scientific performance. Its relative
decline in percentage share of publications is largely due to the emergence of
China and other Asian nations. In 2006, China has become the second largest
nation in terms of the number of publications within this database. In terms of
citations, the competitive advantage of the American domestic market is
diminished, while the European Union EU is profiting more from the enlargement
of the database over time than the US. However, the USA is still outperforming
all other countries in terms of highly cited papers and citationpublication
ratios, and it is more successful than the EU in coordinating its research
efforts in strategic priority areas like nanotechnology. In this field, the
Peoples Republic of China PRC has become second largest nation in both numbers
of papers published and citations behind the USA.
