Springer Nature’s 2024 Open Access (OA) report highlights growing value for authors
Fourth annual OA report shows responsible growth in OA and progress towards global equity
Berlin | London | New York 31 July 2025
Springer Nature has released its fourth annual Open Access (OA) report providing a transparent, data-led (1), overview of progress made in OA publishing and access. Marking ten years since signing its first, pioneering transformative agreement (TAs), the report highlights how the company’s responsible approach continues to increase visibility and impact for its authors, while calling for greater industry collaboration to support a more inclusive and sustainable OA transition.
Key takeaways:
- Greater impact for authors - articles in Springer Nature’s full OA journals receive an average of 6.3 citations - higher than those from mixed model or pure OA publishers. Downloads of OA book and journal content rose by over 31% in 2024.
- Wider global reach - downloads of OA content increased by 21% in Lower-middle-income (LMIC) and 14% in Lower-income countries (LIC) reflecting growing access for researchers worldwide.
- Transformative Agreements (TA) accelerating OA – Springer Nature’s TAs enabled 10 times more gold OA articles than those published outside of a TA - up from 7x in 2023. Since 2015, TAs have grown at average annual rate of 42%, now supporting authors from over 3,700 institutions globally.
Harsh Jegadeesan, Chief Publishing Officer at Springer Nature said:
“We are proud of the open access milestones we've reached and the role we play in helping to build a more open research ecosystem. But as the report shows, this global transformation is complex and requires responsible commitment from all stakeholders.
Our focus remains on ensuring that no researcher, institution, or country is left behind, while maintaining the reliability and trustworthiness of research so that scientists and innovators everywhere can build on knowledge to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.”
The full report can be accessed here, along with the previous editions from 2023, 2022 and the full OA report from 2021. Together with the publisher’s Annual Report, it reflects Springer Nature’s ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability in its publishing programme.
More information on Springer Nature’s wider commitment to OA and our full OA offerings can be found here.
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1. The report draws on publicly available data - sources include Digital Science, Dimensions; Clarivate’s 2021 Journal Citation Reports; and Web of Science InCites
Springer Nature is one of the leading publishers of research in the world. We publish the largest number of journals and books and are a pioneer in open research. Through our leading brands, trusted for more than 180 years, we provide technology-enabled products, platforms and services that help researchers to uncover new ideas and share their discoveries, health professionals to stay at the forefront of medical science, and educators to advance learning. We are proud to be part of progress, working together with the communities we serve to share knowledge and bring greater understanding to the world. For more information, please visit about.springernature.com and @SpringerNature.
Katie Baker | Springer Nature | Communications and Corporate Affairs
