A bibliometric analysis of the worldwide research activities associated with mountains or the alpine part of mountains is presented, according to country, institution, and subject. Half of the human population depends on mountains in one way or another, and mountains cover between 12 and 26 percent of the ice free terrestrial area. About 20 percent of the human population lives in mountains or their immediate forelands. One third of all protected areas are in mountains, and they supply water to nearly one half of the world population. Overall, this analysis illustrates that an over proportional fraction of mountain research is produced in a handful of rather small countries and institutions.
