The BRICS TimesAccording to Iran’s Ministry of Health, the nation has achieved first place in West Asia for both the volume of published articles and the number of citations in reproductive medicine.
At the inauguration ceremony of the 26th Royan International Congress and the 24th Festival held at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Deputy Health Minister for Research and Technology, Shahin Akhoundzadeh, highlighted Iran’s leading role in reproductive medicine research across the region.
Akhoundzadeh pointed out that Iran has outpaced other countries in West Asia, particularly Turkey, in terms of both published articles and citations in this specialized field. He emphasized the significance of this achievement by noting that Turkey allocates nearly eleven times more resources to scientific research and operates without the constraints of international sanctions, yet Iran continues to maintain a superior position.
The deputy minister also underlined Iran’s impressive global standing, explaining that in 2024, the country ranked third worldwide in the number of reproductive medicine publications, following only China and the United States. This accomplishment comes despite Iran investing merely 0.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in scientific advancement.
He further remarked that Iran has witnessed significant progress in reproductive sciences in recent years, stressing that the upward trajectory of research output and innovation will persist even under existing limitations.
Referring to an evaluation conducted over the past five years (2020–2024), Akhoundzadeh noted that ten Iranian scholars, along with ten national universities and research institutes, have been recognized among the world’s most influential contributors in reproductive biology.
