How many AI researchers are there in China?

As of October 2026, the index holds 238 132 researchers whose institution sits in China, 33% of everyone with a known country. Only people who published AI research are counted, which makes the figure a floor.

Where do you find AI researchers in China?

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 5 927, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5 750, University of Science and Technology of China, 5 525. Their most common subject is Topic Modeling, 8.8% of the country's subject assignments.

What is China strongest in?

Advanced Neural Network Applications, at 1.4 times the world share.

Is the pool of AI researchers in China growing?

Yes, faster than the world. Since 2024, 58 005 people in China published for the first time, against 23 176 over the three years before, a ratio of 2.5 where the world sits at 1.8.

AI researchers in China | Founding Hires

The short answer

By number of indexed researchers, China ranks 1st of 132 countries, with 238 132 profiles.

Authorship Attribution and Profiling is the subject newcomers in China pick up fastest: 155 started on it since 2024, and its share of new entrants is 4.2 times its share in the previous window.

China counts 169 indexed AI researchers per million inhabitants, 1.9 times the world rate of 89.

What stands out

5.3% of the AI researchers indexed in China sit in a company rather than a university, half the world share of 8.9%.

The subject where China weighs most against the rest of the world is Advanced Neural Network Applications: 6.1% of its subject assignments work on it, 1.4 times the world share of 4.3%.

China holds 33% of the researchers with a known country and 17% of the world's population, 1.9 times its demographic weight.

Newcomers since 2024 number 58 005 in China, against 23 176 between 2021 and 2023: a ratio of 2.5, where the world sits at 1.8.

Subjects

Topic Modeling is the largest subject in China, carried by 8.8% of its subject assignments.

Subject reports: Multimodal Machine Learning Applications, Natural Language Processing Techniques, Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis, Domain Adaptation and Few-Shot Learning.

Subjects of 238 132 indexed researchers in China, OpenAlex taxonomy, one person can carry several subjects.
Subject	Researchers	Share here	Share worldwide
Topic Modeling	38 067	8.8%	7.9%
Advanced Neural Network Applications	26 241	6.1%	4.3%
Multimodal Machine Learning Applications	23 274	5.4%	3.9%
Natural Language Processing Techniques	17 223	4.0%	4.3%
Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis	14 635	3.4%	2.6%
Domain Adaptation and Few-Shot Learning	14 482	3.3%	2.5%
Higher Education and Teaching Methods	728	0.2%	0.1%
Advanced Software Engineering Methodologies	718	0.2%	0.3%

Newcomers by year

In 2025, the last full year, China gained 0.8 times as many new researchers as in an average year of the three before; the world figure is 0.8.

Researchers by year of first publication, up to 2025, the last full year indexed.
First publication	New in China	Share of the world's newcomers
2019	4 784	24%
2020	4 724	23%
2021	5 747	23%
2022	8 990	26%
2023	8 439	28%
2024	6 689	22%
2025	6 232	24%

Institutions

Shanghai Jiao Tong University is the largest institution; with the next two it accounts for 7.2% of the researchers indexed in China.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University is the largest, with 5 927 indexed researchers, barely ahead of Chinese Academy of Sciences at 5 750. No single place dominates here. Everyone else sits in places too small to name without pointing at individuals.

Largest institutions by indexed researchers, named from twenty people.
Institution	Researchers	Share of the country
Shanghai Jiao Tong University	5 927	2.5%
Chinese Academy of Sciences	5 750	2.4%
University of Science and Technology of China	5 525	2.3%

Compared with its peers

The two countries closest in size are United States and Germany. Same order of magnitude, different profile. The gap that stands out is the researchers per million inhabitants: 169 here, below the 423 of those two. Reports: AI researchers in United States, AI researchers in Germany.

Same measures, three countries of similar size.
	China	United States	Germany
Researchers	238 132	157 641	32 275
Per million inhabitants	169	464	382
In a company	5.3%	17%	9.8%
Early career	43%	51%	55%
Newcomers, recent against previous window	2.5	1.9	1.1

Method

A country is where the institution sits, so someone who has moved and not yet published from the new address still counts at the old one. Counts move between two refreshes because the index grows every night. The method page sets out the sources and what each field leaves out.

Common questions

How many AI researchers are there in China?: As of October 2026, the index holds 238 132 researchers whose institution sits in China, 33% of everyone with a known country. Only people who published AI research are counted, which makes the figure a floor.
Where do you find AI researchers in China?: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 5 927, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5 750, University of Science and Technology of China, 5 525. Their most common subject is Topic Modeling, 8.8% of the country's subject assignments.
What is China strongest in?: Advanced Neural Network Applications, at 1.4 times the world share.
Is the pool of AI researchers in China growing?: Yes, faster than the world. Since 2024, 58 005 people in China published for the first time, against 23 176 over the three years before, a ratio of 2.5 where the world sits at 1.8.