Driving forward sustainable, scalable open access
Springer Nature remains committed to supporting all researchers with a route to open access (OA) publication, one that can scale sustainably and support equity in access
Achieving open access (OA) that is both equitable and sustainable requires solutions that work in practice at scale and sustainably for researchers, funders and institutions. While a range of models are available, not all are equal in the way they enable global participation, maintain research quality, and deliver consistent outcomes over time. Our experience and data continue to show that solutions built around gold OA, supported by mechanisms such as transformative agreements, are already delivering against these requirements.
Transformative agreements: delivering scale, sustainability and value in practice
Transformative agreements (TAs) have been central to our OA strategy since 2015, when we signed the world’s first read and publish agreement with the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU). Today, they remain the most effective mechanism for enabling a scalable, equitable global transition to OA.
To date, nearly 300,000 articles have been published under Springer and Nature TAs (2015-2025) – of which 50% (165,000) have been published in the last three years (2023-2025). In 2025 we saw a 12% increase in the number of OA articles funded through TAs. This is in comparison to an average of around 13,000 articles published (2023-2025) via author choice a year (authors choosing to publish OA) – demonstrating the continued role TAs play in enabling greater uptake of OA and increased access for authors across more regions and fields.
Strong and sustained year-on-year demand for TAs
In 2025, we renewed 17 TAs and agreed 19 more, including our first in Malaysia – a pivotal national agreement covering researchers across all 20 public universities. In its first year, OA uptake increased by 360%.
Some of our longest‑standing TAs (over eight years), including in the Netherlands, UK, Austria and Sweden, continue to see strong uptake, with a five‑year average above 75%, reflecting the sustained demand for, and therefore value, these agreements deliver for researchers and institutions year on year.
Percentage OA uptake across agreements live for 8+ years
| Country | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands |
81 |
80 |
78 |
81 |
83 |
82 |
| United Kingdom |
66 |
70 |
72 |
73 |
80 |
78 |
| Austria |
78 |
78 |
81 |
84 |
85 |
83 |
| Sweden |
90 |
91 |
92 |
95 |
95 |
95 |
Springer Nature data source: research articles in Springer Research hybrid journals with corresponding author affiliation in named country/region. OA uptake refers to % of these articles published immediate gold OA.
Increasing access across disciplines
In 2025, Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) once again had the highest OA uptake at 44%. On a country level HSS saw the highest uptake, compared to other disciplines in Denmark (82%), Australia (81%), USA (41%) and Taiwan (32%).
Percentage OA uptake by researchers publishing in HSS fields
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
22 |
27 |
31 |
36 |
41 |
44 |
Source: Springer Nature data – related to Springer TAs.
High downloads deliver continued impact for all researchers and value for institutions
In 2025 content published via TAs was downloaded over 401 million times globally with the highest downloads coming from Asia and North America. Since 2019, content published via our TAs has been downloaded over 1 billion times1.
1 Downloads in 2025 of content published via our Springer TAs globally from 2016-2025.
Usage of article publications under Springer TA by continent for 2019 to 2025
| Continent | Downloads |
|---|---|
| Africa |
448k
|
|
13m
|
|
| Antarctica |
10k
|
|
28k
|
|
| Asia |
5m
|
|
163m
|
|
| Europe |
7m
|
|
98m
|
|
| North America |
5m
|
|
102m
|
|
| Oceania |
574k
|
|
10m
|
|
| South America |
429k
|
|
14m
|
Source COUNTER 5.1. Usage is cumulative and reflects all Springer TA articles published up to the year shown. Continent usage marked by IP addresses from each region.
Equity: expanding access and participation
Ensuring that OA is equitable requires enabling researchers from all regions and disciplines to participate fully – both as contributors and as readers.
We continue to ensure that OA publication is an option for all researchers
Our full OA journals waived more than €22 million in APCs in 2025 for authors in low- and lower-middle-income countries. We also continued a project piloting discounts for BMC Series and EMBO titles, where corresponding authors are eligible for up to 100% discount of the journal’s standard APC, depending on their location, removing barriers for authors who might otherwise be unable to publish.
Expanding author choice to support inclusive research and communities
We work closely with partners, using collaborative and tailored approaches, to expand access to publishing opportunities and enable more inclusive research. In 2025 we launched 48 new OA journal titles, providing additional routes for researchers to publish openly in trusted venues.
Building infrastructure for open and responsible research: partnerships and policy
Working with institutions, funders and global organisations enables the development of solutions that extend beyond publishing models, building the infrastructure, standards and practices needed for open research to function effectively at scale.
Partnerships: Research4Life
Initiatives such as Research4Life play an important role in widening access to high-quality research, supporting institutions in lower-income countries and contributing to more inclusive participation in the global research system.
As a founding partner, we have not only committed our full journal portfolio to the initiative, but support its expanded focus on training and supporting researchers, by making all Nature Masterclasses content freely available to Research4Life Group A countries, giving researchers access to practical courses on writing, publishing and research skills. We also provide premium access to protocols.io, which helps researchers share, adapt and build on robust, reproducible research methods.
Policy and practice: Open data
We play an active role in shaping how open research practices evolve. Together with Digital Science and Figshare, we publish the State of Open Data – the longest-running global study of open research behaviour.
We use this evidence to help inform our policies, guidance and training including the expansion of our open data policies, credit mechanisms given to researchers around open research behaviour and development of AI powered functionality in our protocols platform to improve use, re-use and discovery of data.
Open access at Springer Nature
Growing the pool of knowledge
OA has been a central part of our DNA for over two decades.
Delivering Value
Authors publishing OA with us benefit from the highest usage of their work.
Spotlight on: Real world impact
OA research continues to have tangible benefits for society and knowledge.
Spotlight on: Regional OA growth
We are committed to working with partners, globally, to ensure a sustainable, tailored, scalable path for all.
What’s next in OA?
Committed to investing in tech and working collaboratively to eliminate barriers, driving forward an inclusive, reproducible, equitable transition to OA.
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