Distribution by country, region, and publisher in environmental engineering journals in SCImago Journal and Country Rank database (1999–2022)

The rise of globalization and the advent of Internet gave birth to a new science model in which national systems compete for a place in a global communication network where their products could circulate and gain notoriety. Several studies have been carried out to assess national performance in such network, particularly in terms of scientific research output and collaboration networks. However, academic journals in specific disciplines have not received the same attention. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the evolution of journal prestige in terms of country and region of origin in the field of environmental engineering in SCImago Journal and Rank database during 1999–2022. It was found that Western countries and private publishers still dominate the discipline in 2022. The United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands housed 51.16% of journals in 2022. Also, corporate publishers with headquarters in these countries own most of the journals, particularly in the top tier. Elsevier, Springer, and Taylor & Francis had a total 54 journals indexed in 2022, and 65.9% of journals rank in the first quartile belonged to these groups. However, Poland, China, and Iran have become major players. By 2022, they had 12, 10, and 7 environmental engineering journals indexed in SCImago Journal and Country Rank, and China and Iran’s journals have been ranked as Q1.