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Just 12 per cent of European articles, reviews and conference papers listed in the database Scopus in 2011 had a single author, says the study by Science Europe and Elsevier.

Meanwhile, 23?per cent involved non-European co-authors, which was the fastest-growing type of collaboration, adds the report, Comparative Benchmarking of European and US?Research Collaboration and Researcher Mobility.

In Europe, it shows, the UK and Germany were the most prolific collaborator countries, jointly producing 41,778 outputs between 2007 and 2011.

However, an indicator of the strength of collaborative ties that adjusts for total research volume suggests that shared culture and location remain key factors, with Germany and Switzerland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Sweden and Denmark all significant collaborative pairings.

Source: Comparative Benchmarking of European and US Research Collaboration and Researcher Mobility, Science Europe and Elsevier

Note: ¡°Other¡± includes articles with two or more affiliations but where a lack of information means it cannot be classified

elizabeth.gibney@tsleducation.com