Compositio Mathematica: Profile & Metrics

Compositio Mathematica is a peer-reviewed research journal founded in 1935, owned by the Foundation Compositio Mathematica with the London Mathematical Society and published by Cambridge University Press, featuring verified OpenAlex citation metrics and DORA evaluation standards.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 8 Nov 2026

What Is Compositio Mathematica?

Founded in 1935 by Dutch mathematician L.E.J. Brouwer, Compositio Mathematica is one of the premier general mathematical research journals in the world. The journal was established as an independent forum for advanced scholarly communication across all major branches of pure mathematics, including algebraic geometry, number theory, topology, differential geometry, and analysis. Its published research directly advances theoretical frameworks detailed in our guide to mathematics research domains and methods.

The journal operates under a distinct non-profit governance model: it is owned by the Foundation Compositio Mathematica in partnership with the London Mathematical Society (LMS). Operating surpluses generated from publishing agreements with Cambridge University Press are reinvested directly into the mathematical community to sponsor research conferences, workshops, and grants. Every article receives a persistent identifier registered via Crossref, ensuring permanent citation resolution through its Crossref DOI. The journal carries print ISSN 0010-437X and electronic ISSN 1570-5846, with over 2,560 permanent works recorded in international registries.

Compositio Mathematica Impact Factor and Calculation Methodology

The Compositio Mathematica impact factor is a proprietary journal-level citation metric calculated annually by Clarivate within Journal Citation Reports (JCR). The standard two-year Journal Impact Factor represents the ratio of citations received in a given data year to citable papers published during the two preceding calendar years:

$$text{JIF}_y = frac{text{Citations in year } y text{ to items published in } (y-1) + (y-2)}{text{Citable items published in } (y-1) + (y-2)}$$

In pure mathematics, citation behavior differs significantly from rapid-turnover experimental disciplines. Mathematical papers often require years to be studied, verified, and applied in subsequent discoveries. As a result, foundational papers published in Compositio Mathematica often accumulate citations across five-, ten-, or twenty-year windows. For this reason, evaluators frequently consult five-year citation indicators and the Clarivate Journal Impact Factor alongside extended metrics such as the Scopus CiteScore to assess enduring scholarly influence.

Open Bibliometric Benchmarks for Compositio Mathematica

Open bibliometric data from the OpenAlex registry (source ID S66563395) provides verified quantitative benchmarks for Compositio Mathematica:

Publisher / Host Organization: Cambridge University Press (on behalf of Foundation Compositio Mathematica and London Mathematical Society)
International Standard Serial Numbers: ISSN 0010-437X (print), ISSN 1570-5846 (online)
Cumulative Cataloged Works: 2,567 works
Total Citation Count: 52,736 indexed citations
Two-Year Mean Citedness: 4.74 (OpenAlex 2-year citedness ratio)
h-index: 85 (with an i10-index of 1,392)
Annual Output: Approximately 80 to 110 highly selective papers per volume (109 works in 2025, 85 works in 2024, 100 works in 2023)

Authorship Traditions and Manuscript Conventions

Research published in Compositio Mathematica adheres to strict structural and ethical traditions of the mathematical sciences. Articles are organized in accordance with standard theorem-proof paper writing conventions, featuring rigorous axiomatic definitions, lemmas, propositions, and full proofs. In collaborative papers, author order universally follows the mathematics alphabetical authorship tradition, signaling equal contribution among co-authors. Furthermore, authors routinely post early versions of their work as arXiv preprints in mathematics prior to formal submission.

Responsible Research Assessment and Evaluation Cautions

International research assessment frameworks, including the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), strongly discourage using journal-level impact factors to evaluate individual mathematicians. Citation densities vary widely across mathematical specializations; an outstanding contribution in low-density fields like algebraic topology may naturally receive fewer citations than a paper in higher-density areas of applied analysis. Assessment committees are urged to evaluate the intrinsic intellectual rigor of individual papers rather than the prestige or impact metric of the publication venue.

Sources

OpenAlex Source Record S66563395, Compositio Mathematica: https://api.openalex.org/sources/S66563395 (checked November 2026).
CrossRef Journal Registry, ISSN 0010-437X (Compositio Mathematica): https://api.crossref.org/journals/0010-437X (checked November 2026).
Cambridge University Press & Assessment, Compositio Mathematica Profile: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/compositio-mathematica (checked November 2026).
London Mathematical Society (LMS) Journal Portfolio: https://www.lms.ac.uk/publications/journals (checked November 2026).
San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA): https://sfdora.org/read/ (checked November 2026).

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