Iran’s Health Ministry states that the country has ranked first in West Asia in terms of the number of published articles and citations in reproductive medicine.

Deputy Health Minister for Research and Technology Shahin Akhoundzadeh made the announcement on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the 26th Royan International Congress and the 24th Festival at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran.

He compared Iran’s top position in the region regarding reproductive medicine publications and citations to that of Turkey, which spends 11 times more than the Islamic Republic on research and faces no scientific sanctions.

He further said that Iran ranked third globally in 2024 in the number of published articles in reproductive medicine, after China and the United States, despite spending only 0.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on science.

In recent years, there has been a remarkable growth in Iran’s publications in the field of reproductive science, Akhoundzadeh said, emphasizing that the development will continue despite existing limitations.

Based on a five-year review (2020 to 2024), ten Iranian researchers, as well as ten universities and institutes, are among the world’s top in reproductive biology, the official noted.

MNA/PRESS TV