4 Answers
I faced the same question recently and tried to find some reliable estimations. The most recent work giving an estimate on the number of peer-reviewed papers per year, which I got aware of, is:
B.-C. Björk, R. Annikki, and M. Lauri. Global annual volume of peer reviewed scholarly articles and the share available via different Open Access options.(Openly available at:
http://oacs.shh.fi/public
The authors used the most comprehensive citation indexes, Web of Science and Ullrichsweb, for their analysis.They estimate that 1.346 million articles were published in 23.750 journals within 2006.
The National Science Board estimates the average annual growth of the indexes within the Web of Science to be 2.5% (See: Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, chapter 5, page 29, available at:
http://www.nsf.gov/statis
Taking the mentioned estimate for 2006 and applying the 2.5% growth rate for the years 2007-2010, the estimate for 2010 would be:
1.486 million peer-reviewed papers published within 2010.
B.-C. Björk, R. Annikki, and M. Lauri. Global annual volume of peer reviewed scholarly articles and the share available via different Open Access options.(Openly available at:
http://oacs.shh.fi/public
The authors used the most comprehensive citation indexes, Web of Science and Ullrichsweb, for their analysis.They estimate that 1.346 million articles were published in 23.750 journals within 2006.
The National Science Board estimates the average annual growth of the indexes within the Web of Science to be 2.5% (See: Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, chapter 5, page 29, available at:
http://www.nsf.gov/statis
Taking the mentioned estimate for 2006 and applying the 2.5% growth rate for the years 2007-2010, the estimate for 2010 would be:
1.486 million peer-reviewed papers published within 2010.
I don't know of a way to evaluate this.
As part of my research, however, I have documented the growth in the number of medical publications over time, as seen in the PubMed database -- the number one reference for medical publications, which covers over 4,600 journals that have pertinence for medical research. It is an endeavor of the NIH.
In 2009, there were 845,175 articles published and recorded in PubMed. To see the growth over the past two decades, I made a PDF figure for illustrative purposes. You can find it on my website here:
http://stanford.edu/~epar
I believe a fair estimate would be in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 times the number of publications recorded in PubMed. Medical science and its associated fields are probably the biggest field of inquiry; the rest -- especially the humanities, and to some extent the social sciences -- have much slower publication rates.
So my guesstimate? Between 1,267,762.5 and 1,690,350 papers, and... growing!
As part of my research, however, I have documented the growth in the number of medical publications over time, as seen in the PubMed database -- the number one reference for medical publications, which covers over 4,600 journals that have pertinence for medical research. It is an endeavor of the NIH.
In 2009, there were 845,175 articles published and recorded in PubMed. To see the growth over the past two decades, I made a PDF figure for illustrative purposes. You can find it on my website here:
http://stanford.edu/~epar
I believe a fair estimate would be in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 times the number of publications recorded in PubMed. Medical science and its associated fields are probably the biggest field of inquiry; the rest -- especially the humanities, and to some extent the social sciences -- have much slower publication rates.
So my guesstimate? Between 1,267,762.5 and 1,690,350 papers, and... growing!
Here's a paper on that very thing, http://www.stm-assoc.org/
And here is a place to find those that are already peer reviewed. Scientific journal publishing: yearly volume and open access availability
The actual number of published papers, reviewed or not, is large. The number of published papers, in 23,750 journals, was an estimated 1.3 million in 2006.
And here is a place to find those that are already peer reviewed. Scientific journal publishing: yearly volume and open access availability
The actual number of published papers, reviewed or not, is large. The number of published papers, in 23,750 journals, was an estimated 1.3 million in 2006.
I found an interesting answer for you question: 50 Million of scholarly papers have been published ever!
According to Arif E. JINHA research from University of Ottawa in 2010, the approximate number of published paper by the end of 2008 was 49,234,626 which grew to 50,712,009 by the end of 2009.
You can find his paper here: an estimate of the number of scholarly articl...
According to Arif E. JINHA research from University of Ottawa in 2010, the approximate number of published paper by the end of 2008 was 49,234,626 which grew to 50,712,009 by the end of 2009.
You can find his paper here: an estimate of the number of scholarly articl...
