After a brief account of the recent trends in science indicatiors research, the authors propose a coherent system of scientometric indicators. These indicators are based on the publication performance of each country in 8 science fields and reflect the versatility of the impact of the publication activity in the country in question. The special aim of the indicator system is to characterize and compare the contribution of research-intensive, medium-sized and small countries to the world's overall scientific research activity. Indicator values for 32 such countries are reported and evaluated. Relations to other economic, social and science indicators are discussed.This book is intended both as a data source and an analytic tool for specialists engaged in science policy, science management, science indicators research, scientometrics and other areas of science as well as a tool for practising research scientists.
