This paper analyzes the scientific impact of nations based on research investment over the past decade. It evaluates the quality of research on national scales and compares it internationally. The study uses data from Thomson ISI, which indexes over 8,000 journals in 36 languages, representing most significant scientific and engineering material. The analysis considers the number of published papers, their citations, and the impact of research outputs. The study compares 31 countries, including the G8 group and the EU15, which account for over 98% of the world's highly cited papers. The United States leads in the volume of publications and citations, while the EU15 countries now publish more papers than the United States. The United Kingdom is second in citations, and Japan publishes almost as many papers as the United States. Germany is closing the gap in citations. The study also considers the impact of research relative to population and GDP. The smaller nations in the group, such as the Scandinavian countries, Israel, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, perform strongly by this measure. The United States and Japan are outliers in citation intensity, while the United Kingdom is above average. China and India, despite high GDPs, have low wealth and citation intensity. The study also examines disciplinary strengths and weaknesses. The United States still has a bigger disciplinary footprint than the EU15, largely due to its strength in the life sciences. The EU15 footprint is more symmetrical, being a little stronger than the United States in the physical sciences and engineering, but weaker in life and medical sciences. The paper also discusses the relationship between research funding and outputs, noting that there are lags between changes in funding and outputs. It highlights the importance of international collaboration and the need for capacity-building between high and low science intensity nations. The study concludes that the United Kingdom performs remarkably well in terms of value-for-money, with top performance in research impact. It also notes the importance of investing in research infrastructure and funding to sustain economic growth and address global challenges. The paper emphasizes the need for continued investment in science and technology to maintain a competitive edge in the global market.This paper analyzes the scientific impact of nations based on research investment over the past decade. It evaluates the quality of research on national scales and compares it internationally. The study uses data from Thomson ISI, which indexes over 8,000 journals in 36 languages, representing most significant scientific and engineering material. The analysis considers the number of published papers, their citations, and the impact of research outputs. The study compares 31 countries, including the G8 group and the EU15, which account for over 98% of the world's highly cited papers. The United States leads in the volume of publications and citations, while the EU15 countries now publish more papers than the United States. The United Kingdom is second in citations, and Japan publishes almost as many papers as the United States. Germany is closing the gap in citations. The study also considers the impact of research relative to population and GDP. The smaller nations in the group, such as the Scandinavian countries, Israel, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, perform strongly by this measure. The United States and Japan are outliers in citation intensity, while the United Kingdom is above average. China and India, despite high GDPs, have low wealth and citation intensity. The study also examines disciplinary strengths and weaknesses. The United States still has a bigger disciplinary footprint than the EU15, largely due to its strength in the life sciences. The EU15 footprint is more symmetrical, being a little stronger than the United States in the physical sciences and engineering, but weaker in life and medical sciences. The paper also discusses the relationship between research funding and outputs, noting that there are lags between changes in funding and outputs. It highlights the importance of international collaboration and the need for capacity-building between high and low science intensity nations. The study concludes that the United Kingdom performs remarkably well in terms of value-for-money, with top performance in research impact. It also notes the importance of investing in research infrastructure and funding to sustain economic growth and address global challenges. The paper emphasizes the need for continued investment in science and technology to maintain a competitive edge in the global market.