A growing gap in knowledge production exists not only between high-income and other countries but also within the developing world – between a handful of ’emerging’ countries, intermediary nations numbering five to 10 on each continent, and a remaining 100 countries whose productivity remains very small (60 countries) or minute (40 countries). Stagnating research means some nations have lost their relative share of global knowledge production – but the burning question for the developing world is one of critical mass and the resources required to maintain scientific quality and build a new generation of scientists.