Amman, Oct. 27 (Petra) -- The University of Jordan (UJ) ranked seventh among Arab universities and research institutions for the citation impact of its affiliated researchers and third for the impact of its scientific journals, according to the 2026 Arab Citation and Impact Factor (ARCIF) report.

The 11th annual report showed that research published by UJ-affiliated authors received 10,870 citations across 2,301 cited articles, while journals issued by the university recorded 20,722 citations across 3,555 articles, averaging 5.83 citations per article.

Yarmouk University also ranked among the region's top 10 institutions for research impact, placing eighth with 10,692 citations across 2,073 cited articles.

The report, issued under the ARCIF initiative of the e-Marefa database for Arab scholarly research, assessed the performance of universities and research institutions using two indicators measuring the citation impact of Arabic-language academic publications.

The first indicator evaluated research produced by authors affiliated with 1,448 universities and research institutions, while the second assessed 519 institutions based on citations to articles published in their scientific journals.

Under the first indicator, Egypt's Ain Shams University topped the rankings with 20,653 citations across 3,926 articles, followed by Iraq's University of Baghdad with 18,980 citations across 6,456 articles and Saudi Arabia's King Saud University with 14,752 citations across 2,787 articles.

Egypt's Capital University, formerly Helwan University, ranked fourth with 13,936 citations across 3,588 articles, followed by Cairo University with 12,643 citations across 3,119 articles and Al-Azhar University with 12,384 citations across 3,174 articles.

The University of Jordan and Yarmouk University occupied seventh and eighth places, respectively, while Egypt's Assiut University ranked ninth with 10,328 citations across 2,351 articles and Benha University tenth with 10,122 citations across 1,867 articles.

The 10 leading institutions represented six Arab countries: Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Algeria and Palestine.

In the second indicator, which measures the citation impact of university-published scientific journals, Ain Shams University retained first place with 30,799 citations across 5,453 articles, averaging 5.65 citations per article.

Cairo University ranked second with 20,919 citations across 4,196 articles, averaging 4.99 citations per article, followed by the University of Jordan in third place.

The University of Baghdad placed fourth with 20,159 citations across 6,670 articles, followed by Algeria's Kasdi Merbah University of Ouargla with 18,149 citations across 3,329 articles and Egypt's Assiut University with 17,903 citations across 3,543 articles.

Sohag University ranked seventh with 16,552 citations across 2,156 articles, averaging 7.68 citations per article, while the Islamic University of Gaza placed eighth with 14,147 citations across 1,955 articles, averaging 7.24.

Algeria's University of Echahid Hamma Lakhdar in El Oued ranked ninth with 14,099 citations across 4,190 articles, followed by Ziane Achour University of Djelfa with 13,613 citations across 5,238 articles.

The report also highlighted growing citation impact across Arab universities and research institutions, reflecting increased recognition of Arabic-language academic research.

ARCIF research teams examined more than 5,600 scientific journals published in Arabic by over 2,600 academic and research bodies. Of these, 1,303 journals met the initiative's 32 accreditation criteria, which are aligned with international impact-factor standards.

The qualifying journals were published in 19 Arab countries, excluding Somalia, Djibouti and Comoros, as well as nine non-Arab countries: the United Kingdom, Türkiye, the United States, Malaysia, India, the Netherlands, Iran, Pakistan and South Africa.

The assessment drew on more than 1.07 million scientific articles published in Arabic-language journals and data covering approximately 413,000 Arab authors, more than 135,000 of whom had received citations to their academic work.

ARCIF Chairman Professor Sami Khazendar said the initiative provides an Arab framework for assessing scholarly influence and improving the visibility of Arabic-language research in regional and international academic communities.

He said the project seeks to address the underrepresentation of Arabic scholarly publications in international citation indexes by establishing measurable indicators of their research impact.

A digital PDF edition of the report is scheduled for release before the end of 2026, providing researchers, academics and policymakers with access to its findings.

ARCIF operates under a supervisory and coordination council that includes representatives of UNESCO's Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States in Beirut, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the e-Marefa database, alongside a scientific committee of Arab and international academics.

The initiative publishes citation data and research indicators through its online platform at http://emarefa.net/arcif.

//Petra// RZ