Mapping disaster risk reduction studies and their regional importance

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is key for mitigating the socio-economic impacts of natural hazards, particularly in the Global South, where vulnerable populations face heightened risks due to limited adaptive capacity and economic instability. This study provides a global and regional bibliometric analysis of DRR scholarship by examining 77,061 peer-reviewed publications and focusing on 10,681 highly cited peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2024. We use an integrated science-mapping approach with tools such as VOSviewer, SciVal, biblioshiny in R, and Overton to assess the evolution of DRR research themes, collaboration networks, citation performance, and policy uptake. Results show a 4800% growth in publications. While Asia leads in output, Oceania and South America exhibit higher field-weighted citation impacts, with South America achieving a strong per-paper influence. More than 54% of the DRR research are cited in policy documents, which have informed over 5000 policy outputs worldwide. However, policy uptake is concentrated in higher income countries, with limited use in lower- and middle-income countries where disaster exposure is often greater. These findings highlight regional diversity in research priorities, persistent geographic and income-based asymmetries in disaster risk science, and the growing importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and policy engagement in advancing effective, context-specific DRR strategies.