This overview is based on Open Access data for publications from 2024 only, providing a snapshot rather than a trend analysis. The data include four document types—articles, Books, Book Chapters, and Reviews—to more accurately reflect disciplinary publishing cultures.
Data was taken from OpenAlex on May 14, 2025. Please note that the figures for Bronze Open Access and Green Open Access are provisional:
- Bronze Open Access may increase, as publishers often open content after a delay.
- Green Open Access may grow due to embargo periods delaying repository deposits.
Please also note that the following table shows the Open Access shares relative to the total publication volume, and—for the specific Open Access types (Gold, Hybrid, Bronze, Green, Diamond)—their share within the total Open Access output of the respective domain, not within the overall publication volume (this relates also to the graphic).
| 2024/ Domain | all | OA | % OA | Gold | % Gold | Hybrid | % Hybrid | Bronze | % Bronze | Green | % Green | Diamond | % Diamond |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Sciences | 2,568,474 | 967,336 | 38% | 432,997 | 45% | 242,666 | 25% | 119,607 | 12% | 73,694 | 8% | 98,372 | 10% |
| Social Sciences | 2,053,499 | 839,687 | 41% | 259,253 | 31% | 255,927 | 30% | 131,939 | 16% | 33,226 | 4% | 159,342 | 19% |
| Health Sciences | 1,594,127 | 782,726 | 49% | 420,264 | 54% | 175,082 | 22% | 77,332 | 10% | 23,906 | 3% | 86,142 | 11% |
| Life Sciences | 815,338 | 427,869 | 52% | 239,083 | 56% | 92,703 | 22% | 41,921 | 10% | 15,278 | 4% | 38,884 | 9% |
We observe the highest overall Open Access share in the Life Sciences (52%), followed by the Health Sciences (49%), Social Sciences (41%), and the lowest rate in the Physical Sciences (38%).
Life Sciences and Health Sciences show the strongest presence of Gold Open Access, with a significant gap to Physical Sciences and Social Sciences. In the Social Sciences, only 31% of all Open Access publications are Gold, which is the lowest share among the domains.
However, the Social Sciences lead in Hybrid Open Access, with 30%, nearly equal to their Gold Open Access share. Other domains range between 22% and 25% in Hybrid Open Access. The Social Sciences also top the list in Bronze Open Access with 16%, followed by the Physical Sciences (12%), while both Health Sciences and Life Sciences show 10%.
Green Open Access shows the lowest rates across all domains: 8% in Physical Sciences and only 3–4% in the remaining fields. Interestingly, the highest share of Diamond OA is also found in the Social Sciences at 19%, while the other domains reach only about half of that figure.
Key insights
- Gold Open Access dominates in the Health and Life Sciences, supported by strong funder mandates and centralized (financial) infrastructures that support APC payments.
- The Social Sciences appear to be both the most traditionally oriented (as reflected in high Hybrid and Bronze shares) and the most innovative, as seen in their leading Diamond Open Access figure. The high Diamond share may be partly driven by Subscribe to Open models.
- Green Open Access plays only a marginal role, with a possible exception in the Physical Sciences, perhaps due to well-established self-archiving practices (e.g., arXiv).
- Diamond Open Access while not a direct competitor to Gold or Hybrid in most domains, outpaces Green Open Access in some areas and comes close to Bronze in overall presence, except in the Social Sciences, where it is a significant force.
The data retrieved from OpenAlex is available as:
Herb, U. (2025). Snapshot of 2024 Scholarly Publications by Document Type – Data from OpenAlex (Retrieved May 14, 2025) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15472072