Royal Society Open Access Equity

In keeping with our role as the UK's national academy of science, we fund open access where there is a cost barrier for authors. Our Royal Society Open Access Equity scheme supports tens of thousands of eligible researchers in over 100 low- and middle-income countries and territories by providing:

Automatic APC waivers on all journals

We offer free open access publication to researchers from low- and medium-income countries and territories on all journals to share the benefits of open access.

Corresponding authors at institutions in the countries and territories listed below will be eligible based on the submission date. This is applicable for papers first submitted after 31 July 2023. No application is required and authors will be automatically recognised as eligible for open access publishing once their paper has been accepted with no direct cost to them or their institution. Please ensure that you select the open access option when prompted if you wish to benefit from this.

All original research, including research articles, review articles, rapid communications, brief reports, and case reports are eligible.

Eligible countries and territories

A full list of countries and territories with free access and/or automatic APC waivers follows. If your country is not listed, you will still be able to access some Royal Society journal content for free or be eligible for a discretionary waiver in our fully open access journals.

Country or territory Eligible for automatic APC waivers Eligible to access all journal articles free
Afghanistan Yes Yes
Albania Yes Yes
Angola Yes Yes
Armenia Yes Yes
Azerbaijan Yes N/A
Bangladesh Yes Yes
Belize Yes Yes
Benin Yes Yes
Bhutan Yes Yes
Bolivia, Plurinational State of Yes Yes
Botswana Yes N/A
Burkina Faso Yes Yes
Burundi Yes Yes
Cabo Verde Yes Yes
Cambodia Yes Yes
Cameroon Yes Yes
Central African Republic Yes Yes
Chad Yes Yes
Comoros Yes Yes
Congo Yes Yes
Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Yes Yes
Cook Islands Yes Yes
Côte d'Ivoire Yes Yes
Cuba Yes Yes
Djibouti Yes Yes
Dominica Yes Yes
El Salvador Yes Yes
Equatorial Guinea Yes Yes
Eritrea Yes Yes
Eswatini formerly Swaziland Yes Yes
Ethiopia Yes Yes
Fiji Yes N/A
Gabon Yes Yes
Gambia Yes Yes
Georgia Yes Yes
Ghana Yes Yes
Grenada Yes Yes
Guatemala Yes Yes
Guinea Yes Yes
Guinea-Bissau Yes Yes
Guyana Yes Yes
Haiti Yes Yes
Honduras Yes Yes
Iraq Yes Yes
Kenya Yes Yes
Kiribati Yes Yes;
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Yes Yes
Kosovo Yes N/A
Kyrgyzstan Yes Yes
Lao People's Democratic Republic Yes Yes
Lebanon Yes Yes
Lesotho Yes Yes
Liberia Yes Yes
Madagascar Yes Yes
Malawi Yes Yes
Maldives Yes Yes
Mali Yes Yes
Marshall Islands Yes Yes
Mauritania Yes Yes
Micronesia Yes Yes
Moldova, Republic of Yes Yes
Mongolia Yes Yes
Mozambique Yes Yes
Myanmar Yes Yes
Nauru Yes Yes
Nepal Yes Yes
Nicaragua Yes Yes
Niger Yes Yes
Nigeria Yes Yes
Niue Yes Yes
North Macedonia Yes N/A
Palau Yes Yes
Palestine, Occupied Territories Yes Yes
Papua New Guinea Yes Yes
Paraguay Yes Yes
Rwanda Yes Yes
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Yes Yes
Saint Kitts and Nevis Yes Yes
Saint Lucia Yes Yes
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Yes Yes
Samoa Yes Yes
Sao Tome and Principe Yes Yes
Serbia Yes N/A
Senegal Yes Yes
Sierra Leone Yes Yes
Solomon Islands Yes Yes
Somalia Yes Yes
South Sudan Yes Yes
Sudan Yes Yes
Suriname Yes Yes
Syrian Arab Republic Yes Yes
Tajikistan Yes Yes
Tanzania, United Republic of Yes Yes
Timor-Leste Yes Yes
Togo Yes Yes
Tokelau Yes Yes
Tonga Yes Yes
Tunisia Yes Yes
Tuvalu Yes Yes
Uganda Yes Yes
Ukraine Yes Yes
Uzbekistan Yes Yes
Vanuatu Yes Yes
Viet Nam Yes Yes
Yemen Yes Yes
Zambia Yes Yes
Zimbabwe Yes Yes

International partners

We support researchers in over 100 low- and middle-income countries and territories by partnering with a number of international schemes.