{"id":6589,"date":"2025-04-29T05:46:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T05:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/?p=6589"},"modified":"2025-06-18T23:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T23:49:14","slug":"diamond-open-access-journals-in-the-mena-region-insights-from-doaj-metadata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/2025\/04\/29\/diamond-open-access-journals-in-the-mena-region-insights-from-doaj-metadata\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamond open access journals in the MENA Region: Insights from DOAJ metadata"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><em>This blog post explores data from DOAJ to map the presence of Diamond OA journals across the MENA region. Mahmoud Khalifa, DOAJ Managing Editor and Ambassador for MENA, discusses how widespread the model is, which countries are leading the way and discusses how these trends identify the future of equitable publishing in the region.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The rise of the diamond open access movement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, the open access (OA) movement has transformed how scholarly knowledge is published and shared. But within the broader OA landscape, <em>Diamond Open Access<\/em> stands out for its unique commitment to equity: journals that are completely free to read <em>and<\/em> free to publish in. No subscription fees, no article processing charges (APCs). Just open, unfettered access to knowledge \u2014 and for many regions of the world, especially those facing financial or infrastructural constraints, this model isn\u2019t just idealistic; it\u2019s essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region presents a powerful case for why Diamond OA matters. With the low economic conditions and persistent funding gaps, the region is well-positioned to benefit from models of publishing that reduce financial barriers and promote local scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Diamond open access globally<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on the analysis of DOAJ journal metadata, Diamond OA journals represent the majority, accounting for 65% compared to 35% for other OA models. This trend highlights the growing momentum and significance of this movement in scholarly publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image6589_9cc75e-a8 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}.kb-image6589_9cc75e-a8 img.kb-img, .kb-image6589_9cc75e-a8 .kb-img img{box-shadow:0px 0px 14px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6589_9cc75e-a8\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"205\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MENA-Diamond.png\" alt=\"Pie Graph\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-6590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MENA-Diamond.png 310w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MENA-Diamond-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/MENA-Diamond-18x12.png 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><figcaption>Diamond OA Journals in DOAJ 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Diamond open access by continents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The data analysis shows that Diamond OA journals hold the majority in all continents except Africa, where only 39% of journals follow the Diamond model compared to 61% using other publishing models. In terms of the total number of Diamond OA journals, Europe leads with 6,555, followed by Asia with 3,002. However, when considering the percentage of Diamond journals within each continent, South America ranks highest, with an impressive 95% of its journals operating under the Diamond model, followed by North America (65%) and Europe (63%). Table 1 below shows the total number of Diamond OA journals indexed as at April 2025 and summarized by continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><\/td><td colspan=\"2\"><strong>Diamond OA<\/strong><\/td><td colspan=\"2\"><strong>Other Models<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><\/td><td>No.<\/td><td>%<\/td><td>No.<\/td><td>%<\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Europe<\/td><td>6555<\/td><td>63%<\/td><td>3799<\/td><td>37%<\/td><td>10354<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Asia<\/td><td>3002<\/td><td>55%<\/td><td>2440<\/td><td>45%<\/td><td>5442<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>South America<\/td><td>2785<\/td><td>95%<\/td><td>144<\/td><td>5%<\/td><td>2929<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>North America<\/td><td>1245<\/td><td>65%<\/td><td>678<\/td><td>35%<\/td><td>1923<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Africa<\/td><td>252<\/td><td>39%<\/td><td>400<\/td><td>61%<\/td><td>652<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Australia<\/td><td>101<\/td><td>61%<\/td><td>65<\/td><td>39%<\/td><td>166<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><br><strong>Table 1. Diamond OA journals indexed as at April 2025 and summarized by continent<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image6589_3759d7-43 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6589_3759d7-43\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DiamondOA_Continents-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-6596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DiamondOA_Continents-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DiamondOA_Continents-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DiamondOA_Continents-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DiamondOA_Continents-1-18x10.jpg 18w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DiamondOA_Continents-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Diamond OA Journal indexed in DOAJ by continent (April 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mapping the MENA landscape in DOAJ<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the DOAJ, as of April 2025, 611 journals from the MENA region are indexed. In contrast, the rest of the world accounts for 20,855 journals. This means MENA journals make up just under 2.8% of all DOAJ-indexed journals. This relatively small share suggests that despite growing efforts, there remains considerable room for enhancing the visibility and integration of MENA research outputs within the global OA ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Egypt leads the region with 291 journals, followed by Iraq (156) and Morocco (34). Together, Egypt and Iraq account for 73% of the MENA\u2019s DOAJ-indexed journals (see Table 2 below). This distribution suggests a few dominant players in the regional scholarly publishing landscape, while several countries remain underrepresented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Country<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>OA Journals<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Diamond Journals<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Egypt<\/td><td>291<\/td><td>65<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Iraq<\/td><td>156<\/td><td>32<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Morocco<\/td><td>34<\/td><td>33<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Algeria<\/td><td>27<\/td><td>27<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Saudi Arabia<\/td><td>23<\/td><td>19<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Qatar<\/td><td>16<\/td><td>15<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Yemen<\/td><td>13<\/td><td>4<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Syria<\/td><td>11<\/td><td>1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>UAE<\/td><td>10<\/td><td>8<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Oman<\/td><td>8<\/td><td>8<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Tunisia<\/td><td>6<\/td><td>6<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Libya<\/td><td>5<\/td><td>3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Jordan<\/td><td>4<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bahrain<\/td><td>2<\/td><td>1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Lebanon<\/td><td>2<\/td><td>1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Palestine<\/td><td>2<\/td><td>2<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kuwait<\/td><td>1<\/td><td>1<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Table 2<\/strong>. <strong>MENA Journals in DOAJ<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Diamond OA penetration in the MENA region<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Out of the 611 OA journals in MENA, 228 follow the Diamond OA model. This means approximately 37.3% of MENA journals in DOAJ operate without charging authors or readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, some countries such as Algeria, Morocco, and Oman exhibit 100% or near-100% Diamond OA adoption, while others like Syria and Yemen are still developing in this regard. This may reflect different national policies, institutional capacities, and levels of government or donor support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Observations and Reflections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The large number of journals in Egypt and Iraq\u2014especially compared to neighboring countries\u2014indicates a more developed academic infrastructure or stronger policies supporting open access (OA) publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diamond OA journals, which remove APCs, provide a more equitable publishing path for researchers in lower-income or conflict-affected areas. Given the many such contexts across the MENA region, strengthening the Diamond OA model could offer significant benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, more efforts are needed to increase the number of MENA journals indexed in the DOAJ. Although DOAJ is working to expand its coverage in the region through two local ambassadors, journal editors and publishers must also prioritize getting their journals indexed. Being listed in DOAJ remains an important marker of quality and visibility in the OA landscape. Expanding the presence of MENA journals in DOAJ\u2014and supporting those already listed\u2014will help elevate the region\u2019s scholarly profile worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Mahmoud Khalifa<\/strong> <strong>is a PhD candidate at Humboldt University of Berlin and is writing his dissertation about national information policies. Previously working in the Library of Congress Cairo Office, Mahmoud was an associate at the IFLA International Leaders Programme, 2016-2018, and an accredited trainer for the IFLA BSLA programme (Building Strong Library Association), as well as an OCLC Fellow at Jay Jordan IFLA\/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image6589_9abc60-4b .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6589_9abc60-4b\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"64\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DOAJ_Diamond_RGB-300x64.jpg\" alt=\"DOAJ logo black and three diamond shapes in orange hues\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-6554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DOAJ_Diamond_RGB-300x64.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DOAJ_Diamond_RGB-1024x217.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DOAJ_Diamond_RGB-768x163.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DOAJ_Diamond_RGB-1536x325.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DOAJ_Diamond_RGB-2048x434.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/DOAJ_Diamond_RGB-18x4.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog post explores data from DOAJ to map the presence of Diamond OA journals across the MENA region. Mahmoud Khalifa, DOAJ Managing Editor and Ambassador for MENA, discusses how widespread the model is, which countries are leading the way and discusses how these trends identify the future of equitable publishing in the region. The&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":378,"featured_media":5584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[610,612,618],"tags":[176,1247,1261,369],"class_list":["post-6589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doaj-ambassadors","category-doaj-voices","category-news-update","tag-diamond-open-access","tag-editorial-team","tag-mena","tag-open-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/378"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6827,"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6589\/revisions\/6827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.doaj.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}