Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Over 46,000 Academic Journals (and Growing)
- Regional Growth: Not Just the Usual Players
- The Open Access Boom Continues
- The Road Ahead: What’s Next for Academic Journals?
- Conclusion
Introduction
Back in 2021, we asked a fairly straightforward question: How many academic journals are there in the world? At the time, the answer hovered around 30,000, with most estimates predicting steady growth year after year. Fast-forward to 2025, and the landscape of scholarly publishing has dramatically evolved, and more studies show heightened interest in the number.
So, how many academic journals are there in 2025? Let’s dig into the numbers, trends, and regional shifts shaping the journal ecosystem today.
Over 46,000 Academic Journals (and Growing)
As of 2025, the most commonly cited figure for the total number of active academic journals worldwide is just under 47,000. This number reflects journals across all disciplines, languages, and publishing models. That’s a significant increase from the 30,000+ estimate in 2021—roughly a 28% jump over the past few years.
The annual growth rate has slowed slightly compared to the early 2000s, averaging about 2.5% per year. That said, growth remains steady. Contributing factors include an increasing number of universities, especially in Asia and Africa, requiring academic publication for tenure and promotion; more regional indexing services; and an explosion of niche or highly specialized journals.
It’s worth noting that these estimates vary depending on the data source. For example, Ulrich’s Web, a comprehensive global journal directory, reported over 48,000 active peer-reviewed journals as early as 2020. Other sources with stricter inclusion criteria might report slightly lower figures.
Regional Growth: Not Just the Usual Players
Europe still leads the world in terms of academic journal output, responsible for nearly 60% of all publications. North America and Asia continue to play major roles as well.
But here’s where things get interesting: China has emerged as a powerhouse in scholarly publishing. Recent estimates put the number of academic journals in China at over 8,000, with more than half classified as scientific journals. This surge aligns with China’s push to boost its global research standing, along with large-scale investments in science and technology.
Elsewhere, regions like Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia are seeing growth driven by local initiatives and public-access platforms. While still underrepresented in mainstream indexes, these journals often focus on region-specific issues and research, offering valuable diversity to the global conversation.
The Open Access Boom Continues
The Open Access movement has gained serious momentum. As of 2025, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) lists over 21,000 journals. That’s a massive share of the total global journal count—and it’s still growing.
Even more intriguing is the rise of Diamond Open Access journals, which charge no fees to authors or readers. These journals are often funded by academic institutions, governments, or consortia. A 2021 study estimated that between 17,000 and 29,000 Diamond Open Access journals exist worldwide. While they tend to fly under the radar compared to major commercial OA publishers, they’re particularly common in Latin America, thanks to platforms like SciELO and Redalyc.
Diamond Open Access journals support equitable access to publishing, especially for researchers in lower-income countries or institutions with limited funding. And they’re becoming a cornerstone of open science efforts worldwide.
The Road Ahead: What’s Next for Academic Journals?
Looking forward, we can expect the number of academic journals to keep climbing, albeit at a moderate pace. However, the focus may shift from just creating new journals to improving the quality, visibility, and impact of existing ones. With increasing attention to research integrity, peer review standards, and data transparency, journals will need to evolve beyond simply being a platform for publishing papers.
We’re also seeing more experiments with formats—such as overlay journals, post-publication peer review, and even AI-assisted editorial workflows. These innovations may not increase the raw number of journals dramatically, but they could significantly change how we interact with scholarly publishing.
Conclusion
So, how many academic journals are there in 2025? The short answer: just under 47,000, and counting. That’s a testament to the continued expansion and diversification of global research.
But more importantly, the journal landscape today reflects deeper shifts towards openness, inclusivity, and innovation. The surge in open access publishing, the rise of non-Western academic voices, and the integration of new technologies suggest that it’s not just about how many journals exist, but what kind of journals we’re building for the future.
As we move ahead, the scholarly publishing world will likely focus less on quantity and more on quality, accessibility, and resilience. The journal, as a medium, isn’t going anywhere—but it’s definitely evolving.