Origin of reprint requests

One thousand consecutive reprint requests were classified according to their countries of origin. One third came from the United States of America and over 70% originated in six countries (USA, Czechoslovakia, France, West and East Germany and Canada). When reprint requests were adjusted for population size, a different order became apparent with Czechoslovakia requesting proportionally the most, followed by Israel, East Germany, Canada, Switzerland and Belgium. Approximately half of the reprint requests came from European countries with the overall rates for western and eastern European nations being similar. There were comparatively few requests received from Third World nations. The analysis questions several of the reasons commonly given for honouring reprint requests.