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José Figueroa-O'Farrill
José Figueroa-O'Farrill
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Added (incorporating Gerald Edgar's summary in the comment below)

This is the summary of "pure maths" defined as classifications 00-60, with a total of 411902 articles reviewed in the decade that has just finished. That, in case you are wondering is 55.38% of all papers reviewed.


00--08      Logic and Combinatorics         63804    15.49%
11--20      Algebra and Number Theory       80689    19.59%
22--49,60   Analysis and Probability       216252    52.50%
51--58      Geometry and Topology           51157    12.42%

Added (incorporating Gerald Edgar's summary in the comment below)

This is the summary of "pure maths" defined as classifications 00-60, with a total of 411902 articles reviewed in the decade that has just finished. That, in case you are wondering is 55.38% of all papers reviewed.


00--08      Logic and Combinatorics         63804    15.49%
11--20      Algebra and Number Theory       80689    19.59%
22--49,60   Analysis and Probability       216252    52.50%
51--58      Geometry and Topology           51157    12.42%
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José Figueroa-O'Farrill
José Figueroa-O'Farrill
  • 33.3k
  • 4
  • 104
  • 183

Sorry to add to the noise, but here it goes. With a little script-fu (and emacs, of course!) I retrieved the data from MSC corresponding to the last ten years in each of the Primary Classifications. Annoyingly the AMS changed their subject classification scheme recently, so that the numbers I queried were interpreted as MSC2010, whereas the papers are published from the year 2000.

43465     35 Partial differential equations
38151     62 Statistics
35994     81 Quantum theory
35633     68 Computer science
34474     65 Numerical analysis
28593     05 Combinatorics
28296     90 Operations research, mathematical programming
26406     34 Ordinary differential equations
26192     60 Probability theory and stochastic processes
23879     93 Systems theory; control
22361     11 Number theory
21689     76 Fluid mechanics
20787     91 Game theory, economics, social and behavioral sciences
19440     37 Dynamical systems and ergodic theory
18425     83 Relativity and gravitational theory
17323     94 Information and communication, circuits
17247     53 Differential geometry
16465     47 Operator theory
16134     03 Mathematical logic and foundations
15408     20 Group theory and generalizations
14225     92 Biology and other natural sciences
14051     82 Statistical mechanics, structure of matter
13663     46 Functional analysis
12894     74 Mechanics of deformable solids
11241     14 Algebraic geometry
10237     49 Calculus of variations and optimal control; optimization
10215     30 Functions of a complex variable
10154     16 Associative rings and algebras
 9801     01 History and biography
 9781     54 General Topology
 8014     42 Fourier analysis
 7103     58 Global analysis, analysis on manifolds
 6780     15 Linear and multilinear algebra; matrix theory
 6410     70 Mechanics of particles and systems
 6359     32 Several complex variables and analytic spaces
 6348     57 Manifolds and cell complexes
 6185     41 Approximations and expansions
 5935     39 Difference and functional equations
 5684     26 Real functions
 5349     17 Nonassociative rings and algebras
 5226     13 Commutative rings and algebras
 4840     78 Optics, electromagnetic theory
 4439     52 Convex and discrete geometry
 4418     33 Special functions
 4350     00 General
 3818     06 Order, lattices, ordered algebraic structures
 3511     28 Measure and integration
 3295     51 Geometry
 2948     22 Topological groups, Lie groups
 2944     55 Algebraic topology
 2538     86 Geophysics
 2089     45 Integral equations
 2052     18 Category theory; homological algebra
 1679     80 Classical thermodynamics, heat transfer
 1523     31 Potential theory
 1444     43 Abstract harmonic analysis
 1343     12 Field theory and polynomials
 1161     40 Sequences, series, summability
 1108     08 General algebraic systems
  898     44 Integral transforms, operational calculus
  775     19 K-theory
  534     85 Astronomy and astrophysics

Usual disclaimers apply. In particular, before concluding that nobody works in astrophysics, go and check the submission statistics for astro-ph: more than 11,000 submissions in 2009 alone! Clearly the AMS does not index very widely in this area.

Let me reiterate that I do not believe for a second that this data allows one to conclude anything of value about mathematics, just perhaps about mathematicians :)