Science in newly industrialized countries

Scientific research is concentrated in the developed world, with only a marginal contribution from the rest of the world. Most Nobel Laureates are either from United States, Europe, or Japan. Many newly industrialized countries have been trying to establish scientific institutions, but with limited success. There is an insufficient dedicated, inspired and motivated labor pool for science and insufficient investment in science education.

The reason that there have been so few scientists, who have made their mark globally, from most NIC's (Newly Industrialized Countries) is partly historical and partly social A true scientist is nurtured from the school up wards to scientific establishments. Only, if there are inspired and dedicated school science teachers in abundance, there will be sufficient number of inspired students who would like to take science as a career option and who may one day become a successful scientist.

At present in newly industrialized nations, a school teacher most often belongs to one of the lower economic strata, that is, s/he does not get sufficient respect in the society which is essential to produce motivated and inspired teachers. Therefore, there is little chance that a child would learn the art of asking questions and seeking their answers. Even if 0.001% of the large populations of any of these countries learns that art, there is seldom any scope for encouragement in the colleges or universities. Universities in most newly industrialized countries do not fare as well as some universities in East Asia (e.g. Japan and Singapore), Canada, Oceania, USA or Western Europe, mainly because there are fewer opportunities for the meritorious; largely due to many prevalent social practices e.g. nepotism being one of them.

...
Wikipedia