Atlas report

Who works on Natural Language Processing Techniques, and where

Since 2024, Natural Language Processing Techniques drew 11 545 newcomers against 9 780 in the previous window, a ratio of 1.2 where the average subject sits at 1.7.

Published 22 September 2026.

Measured on the Founding Hires index of the AI research literature, 701 676 researchers, and refreshed every week.

The short answer

48 168 indexed researchers with a known country work on Natural Language Processing Techniques; the subject takes 4.9% of all subject assignments in the index.

Since 2024, Natural Language Processing Techniques drew 11 545 newcomers against 9 780 in the previous window, a ratio of 1.2 where the average subject sits at 1.7.

Among doctoral starts, Natural Language Processing Techniques takes 0.7 times the share it took over the previous three years, +14 810 people.

What stands out

In 2025, the last full year, Natural Language Processing Techniques gained 0.5 times as many new researchers as in an average year of the three before; the world figure is 0.8.

By country

Two countries, China and the United States, account for 55% of Natural Language Processing Techniques, against 53% of the whole index for the same pair.

Country reports: China, United States, Germany.

The twelve countries with the most researchers on Natural Language Processing Techniques.
CountryResearchersShare of the subjectShare of the country's researchers
China13 72228%4.5%
United States12 67026%5.3%
India2 1334.4%6.1%
United Kingdom2 1214.4%5.0%
Germany2 0914.3%4.4%
South Korea1 4713.1%5.0%
France1 3042.7%4.9%
Canada1 1602.4%4.5%
Japan1 1292.3%5.8%
Hong Kong7771.6%4.5%
Italy6991.5%3.6%
Singapore6311.3%4.7%

Newcomers by year

1 480 researchers on Natural Language Processing Techniques declare a doctorate in progress on their ORCID record, started and without an end date yet.

On 2 071 dated profiles, the median time from first paper to defence on Natural Language Processing Techniques is 5 years.

Researchers by year of first publication, up to 2025, the last full year indexed.
First publicationNew on Natural Language Processing TechniquesShare of the world's newcomers
20191 96614%
20202 16815%
20212 49215%
20223 66915%
20233 61917%
20243 63618%
20251 97111%

Compared with subjects of the same size

Multimodal Machine Learning Applications and Advanced Neural Network Applications are the subjects closest in size. The growth column is where they part.

Three subjects of similar size, same measures.
Natural Language Processing TechniquesMultimodal Machine Learning ApplicationsAdvanced Neural Network Applications
Researchers48 16839 90238 349
Largest countryChinaChinaChina
Newcomers, recent against previous window1.23.31.5

Method

Subjects follow the OpenAlex taxonomy, on the profiles that carry one; a person can carry several, so shares are shares of subject assignments. A country is where the institution sits. Newcomers are dated by first publication, and a doctorate in progress is a junior profile with a first publication and no dated defence. The index is built from arXiv, OpenAlex, ORCID and DBLP and grows every night. See the atlas and how to find and hire AI researchers.

Common questions

How many researchers work on Natural Language Processing Techniques?
48 168 researchers in the Founding Hires index carry Natural Language Processing Techniques as a subject, across the largest countries, as of September 2026. Worldwide the subject holds 4.9% of all subject assignments.
Which countries lead on Natural Language Processing Techniques?
China (13 722), United States (12 670), India (2 133).
Is Natural Language Processing Techniques growing?
Yes, slower than the world. Since 2024, 11 545 people in Natural Language Processing Techniques published for the first time, against 9 780 over the three years before, a ratio of 1.2 where the world sits at 1.7.
How many doctorates on Natural Language Processing Techniques are in progress?
1 480 researchers on Natural Language Processing Techniques declare a doctorate in progress on their ORCID record, started and without an end date yet.

The names behind the numbers

Every count on this page is a list in the index.

Search it by subject and country, set an alert on the people who become reachable, or hand the search over and pay only when someone joins.