2021–2025
Health Areas
The seventeen areas published by the Saudi National Institute of Health in June 2025 as national research priorities, applied to 2021–2025 retrospectively, for description only. This is not an assessment of whether research matched those priorities.
Areas as published by the Saudi National Institute of Health (SNIH), June 2025, applied to 2021–2025 retrospectively, for description only; area assignment follows the SNIH 17-area research dictionary v1.2. Burden from WHO Global Health Estimates through the WHO cause-to-area table v0.4. Publications from PubMed and OpenAlex; trials and observational studies from ClinicalTrials.gov, listing a Saudi site. A listed site does not prove that participants were recruited in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi affiliation is not the same as research on the Saudi population.
Research in the seventeen areas named by SNIH
Papers and registrations are counted separately, never added together.
Papers and registrations are different kinds of record. They are counted separately and never added together, anywhere on this site. Counts describe recorded activity; they do not assess quality, benefit or performance.
Three separate counts. They are never added into one figure, because a paper, a trial and an observational registration are different kinds of record. Coverage: records captured by the named sources that meet the published eligibility rules; coverage is not exhaustive. Each area links to its own profile.
Burden shares do not change with the year: they come from one WHO year, printed on the table. The comparability rating never changes.
Showing 2021–2025
Research-related publications with a Saudi affiliation
Source: PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025 provisional
Clinical trials listing a Saudi site
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · 2021–2025 provisional
Observational studies listing a Saudi site
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · 2021–2025 provisional
Registrations are ClinicalTrials.gov records; a listed site doesn't prove recruitment in Saudi Arabia.
Journals that follow ICMJE policy require clinical trials to be registered before enrolment begins, in ClinicalTrials.gov or another accepted registry; observational studies have no such requirement, so registered observational studies are a small, selective part of observational research. These figures count studies recorded in ClinicalTrials.gov; they do not measure total research volume, study completion or financial investment.
A listed site does not prove that participants were recruited in Saudi Arabia. Withdrawn studies and expanded-access records are not counted.
The Seventeen Areas
Order follows SNIH's published list. The number in front of each area is SNIH's, not a ranking by this site, and it says nothing about how much research an area should receive. Counts are computed on research-related papers.
Eligible publications with MeSH terms and eligible publications matched to any area are computed on the same selection, before the area filter. Papers without MeSH terms cannot be assigned to any area; they are counted in the first of the two, never in the grey row. The second describes the corpus, not how completely an area’s research is captured.
Areas overlap, so the area shares don't add up to a total, and they can't be compared with or added to the unallocated share. Choose a count to open its records.
Close match. The area and its WHO causes line up well enough to show the research-share-to-burden-share ratio, with the differences named.
Partial. Burden of selected WHO proxy causes. The two shares are shown side by side with no ratio.
Not directly comparable. Dictionary v1.2 maps no subject headings to the area, so it has no research count, and its burden is not directly comparable. The dash is the figure.
Showing 2021–2025 provisional
Order follows SNIH's published list.
Eligible publications with MeSH terms
60.6%
PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025
Eligible publications matched to any area
41.3%
PubMed with OpenAlex · 2021–2025
| Area | Publications | Trials | Observational | Research share among MeSH-indexed eligible publications | Burden share, WHO 2023 | Research-share-to-burden-share ratio | Comparability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Cardiovascular Diseases | 7.0% | 15.8% | 0.44 | ||||
| 2 Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders | 10.3% | 12.6%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | ||||
| 3 Cancer | 15.3% | 5.6% | 2.73 | ||||
| 4 Rare and Inherited Diseases | 2.9% | 2.8%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | ||||
| 5 Infectious Diseases | 16.5% | 5.8%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | A close match in the table, shown as partial: the WHO rows behind its listed differences exceed 10% of its burden. | |||
| 6 Population and Public HealthDictionary v1.2 maps no subject headings to this area, so it has no research count. | — | — | — | — | —burden not directly comparable | — | |
| 7 Neurological Diseases | 10.4% | 10.8%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | ||||
| 8 Kidney Diseases | 2.1% | 1.2%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | A close match in the table, shown as partial: the WHO rows behind its listed differences exceed 10% of its burden. | |||
| 9 Lung Diseases | 11.7% | 6.8% | 1.71 | ||||
| 10 Gastrointestinal and Liver Disorders | 6.2% | 4.7% | 1.34 | ||||
| 11 Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health | 12.6% | 17.0%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | ||||
| 12 Dental and Craniofacial Diseases | 3.7% | 1.4%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | ||||
| 13 Women's Health | 4.8% | 3.4% | 1.39 | ||||
| 14 Musculoskeletal, Skin, Pain, and Autoimmune Diseases | 8.3% | 11.8%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | ||||
| 15 Mental Disorders | 5.0% | 15.1% | 0.33 | ||||
| 16 Eye Diseases | 1.9% | 0.6%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | A close match in the table, shown as partial: the WHO rows behind its listed differences exceed 10% of its burden. | |||
| 17 Deafness and Other Communication Disorders | 1.2% | 2.4%burden of selected WHO proxy causes | — | ||||
| Not in any of the seventeen areasRecords with subject terms that match none of the seventeen areas, shown so the areas can be read against what they leave out. Papers without MeSH terms are not here: they stay in the coverage line above. | — | 10.8%burden not allocated by this crosswalk · never added to the areas | — | Never included in any total. |
Research Publications By Area & Year
Research-related papers in each area, by year of earliest publication. Each cell is shaded by the area's research share among MeSH-indexed eligible publications that year: the darker the cell, the larger the share. Order follows SNIH's published list. Choose an area to open its profile, or a count to open its records.
Order follows SNIH's published list.
| Area | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Cardiovascular Diseases | 6.9% | 7.0% | 7.8% | 6.5% | 6.9% |
| 2 Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders | 9.6% | 10.9% | 11.4% | 10.0% | 9.8% |
| 3 Cancer | 12.9% | 15.0% | 16.0% | 15.9% | 16.1% |
| 4 Rare and Inherited Diseases | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 2.6% |
| 5 Infectious Diseases | 22.0% | 18.8% | 16.6% | 14.4% | 13.0% |
| 6 Population and Public Health | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 Neurological Diseases | 9.4% | 10.0% | 10.1% | 10.6% | 11.5% |
| 8 Kidney Diseases | 2.3% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.2% |
| 9 Lung Diseases | 17.2% | 15.6% | 12.5% | 8.5% | 7.2% |
| 10 Gastrointestinal and Liver Disorders | 5.6% | 5.8% | 6.3% | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 11 Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health | 13.9% | 10.4% | 11.4% | 13.5% | 13.5% |
| 12 Dental and Craniofacial Diseases | 4.1% | 3.8% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% |
| 13 Women's Health | 3.9% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 5.3% | 5.3% |
| 14 Musculoskeletal, Skin, Pain, and Autoimmune Diseases | 7.8% | 8.4% | 9.4% | 8.1% | 8.0% |
| 15 Mental Disorders | 4.5% | 4.6% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 5.5% |
| 16 Eye Diseases | 2.4% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| 17 Deafness and Other Communication Disorders | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.5% |
| Not in any of the seventeen areasNever included in any total. |
Research Share & Burden Share, Close-Match Areas
Only the areas rated a close match that pass the 10% test appear here. Research share among MeSH-indexed eligible publications, 2021–2025, against the area's share of disease burden, WHO 2023. The dashed line marks equal shares: A ratio of 1. It is a reference, not a target. Partial areas keep both shares side by side in the table above, with no ratio; the area with no mapped subject headings shows a dash.
| Area | Burden share, WHO 2023 | Research share | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiovascular Diseases | 15.8% | 7.0% | 0.44 |
| Cancer | 5.6% | 15.3% | 2.73 |
| Lung Diseases | 6.8% | 11.7% | 1.71 |
| Gastrointestinal and Liver Disorders | 4.7% | 6.2% | 1.34 |
| Women's Health | 3.4% | 4.8% | 1.39 |
| Mental Disorders | 15.1% | 5.0% | 0.33 |
About These Figures
Why The Areas Do Not Add Up
Two reasons pull in opposite directions. A paper or study can count in more than one area, which makes the seventeen counts sum to more than the total; and some records sit in no area at all, which pulls the other way: records with subject terms that match none of the areas (the grey row) and papers without MeSH terms (the coverage line). Adding the seventeen areas together produces a number that describes nothing, which is why this page never prints one.
Comparability, Area By Area
Each area carries its own rating, from the WHO cause-to-area table v0.4: close match for nine areas, partial for seven, and not directly comparable for one. A close match is downgraded to partial when the WHO rows behind its listed differences exceed 10% of its burden. The rating appears again on each area's own profile.
Close match: the area and its WHO causes line up well enough to show the research-share-to-burden-share ratio, with the differences named. Partial: burden of selected WHO proxy causes. The two shares are shown side by side with no ratio. Not directly comparable: Dictionary v1.2 maps no subject headings to the area, so it has no research count, and its burden is not directly comparable. The dash is the figure.
Records Behind This Figure
* Not final: counts for these years usually rise at later updates, as many studies are registered after they start and recent papers are still being added. On this page: trials and publications 2025; observational studies 2024–2025.