35 free-to-publish Scopus journals in Development
35 peer-reviewed journals in the SCImago category Development charge no APC and no other author fees, according to the DOAJ. The quartile shown is the journal’s quartile in this category (not its best one elsewhere): 3 are Q1 and 3 Q2 here. Data snapshot: October 2026.
Of the Scopus-ranked journals here, 49% are Q1 or Q2 (site-wide: 40%). Their median self-reported time from submission to publication is 21 weeks. Most are published in Spain (5), Brazil (4) and Russia (4). 94% accept manuscripts in English and 49% accept at least one other language.
All 35 free-to-publish journals in Development
Sorted by best SCImago quartile, then SJR. Click a column header to sort by it; click a second column to add a tiebreak. The search box narrows the list. Time to publish is the journal’s own DOAJ figure (average weeks from submission to publication).
| # | Journal | Quartile | SJR | H-index | Publisher | Country | Time to publish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regional Sustainability 2666-660X | Q1 | 1.081 | 27 | KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. | China | 21 wk |
| 2 | Global Social Challenges Journal 2752-3349 | Q1 | 0.949 | 11 | Bristol University Press | United Kingdom | 14 wk |
| 3 | International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks 2577-4441 · 2577-445X | Q1 | 0.915 | 32 | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. | China | 15 wk |
| 4 | Asian Review of Political Economy 2731-5835 | Q2 | 0.534 | 5 | Springer | Singapore | 8 wk |
| 5 | Africa Spectrum 0002-0397 · 1868-6869 | Q2 | 0.494 | 34 | SAGE Publishing | United Kingdom | 6 wk |
| 6 | Investigaciones Regionales - Journal of Regional Research 1695-7253 · 2340-2717 | Q2 | 0.484 | 26 | AECR | Spain | 50 wk |
| 7 | Journal of Illicit Economies and Development 2516-7227 | Q3 | 0.376 | 14 | LSE Press | United Kingdom | 38 wk |
| 8 | Asian Development Review 0116-1105 · 1996-7241 | Q3 | 0.357 | 32 | World Scientific Publishing | Singapore | 53 wk |
| 9 | African Human Mobility Review 2411-6955 · 2410-7972 | Q3 | 0.354 | 7 | University of the Western Cape | South Africa | 16 wk |
| 10 | Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies 2029-4581 · 2345-0037 | Q3 | 0.336 | 15 | Vilnius University Press | Lithuania | 24 wk |
| 11 | Advances in Southeast Asian Studies 2791-531X | Q3 | 0.334 | 18 | Society for South-East Asian Studies | Austria | 40 wk |
| 12 | Foresight and STI Governance 1995-459X · 2500-2597 | Q3 | 0.304 | 31 | National Research University Higher School of Economics | Russia | 25 wk |
| 13 | Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics 1612-9830 · 2363-6033 | Q3 | 0.287 | 26 | Kassel University Press | Germany | 30 wk |
| 14 | Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International Development 2240-2802 | Q3 | 0.282 | 14 | Università degli Studi di Firenze | Italy | 16 wk |
| 15 | New Medit 1594-5685 · 2611-1128 | Q3 | 0.28 | 27 | Bologna University press | Italy | 12 wk |
| 16 | Studies in Agricultural Economics 1418-2106 · 2063-0476 | Q3 | 0.265 | 22 | Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) | Hungary | 16 wk |
| 17 | Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos sobre Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres 0719-8477 | Q3 | 0.262 | 8 | Corporación Gestión de Riesgos y Desastres GRID-Chile | Chile | 8 wk |
| 18 | Vestnik RUDN. International Relations 2313-0660 · 2313-0679 | Q3 | 0.258 | 9 | Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) | Russia | 24 wk |
| 19 | Север и рынок: формирование экономического порядка 2220-802X | Q3 | 0.246 | 8 | The Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Centre Kola Science Centre | Russia | 12 wk |
| 20 | Problemas del Desarrollo 0301-7036 · 2007-8951 | Q3 | 0.242 | 14 | Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas | Mexico | 24 wk |
| 21 | Финансы: теория и практика 2587-5671 · 2587-7089 | Q3 | 0.238 | 16 | Government of the Russian Federation, Financial University | Russia | 8 wk |
| 22 | Revista Galega de Economía 1132-2799 · 2255-5951 | Q4 | 0.207 | 13 | Universidade de Santiago de Compostela | Spain | 22 wk |
| 23 | RAE: Revista de Administração de Empresas 0034-7590 · 2178-938X | Q4 | 0.195 | 26 | Fundação Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo | Brazil | 32 wk |
| 24 | Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy 2467-8406 · 2467-8392 | Q4 | 0.19 | 6 | Afe Babalola University | Nigeria | 24 wk |
| 25 | Sustentabilidade em Debate 2177-7675 · 2179-9067 | Q4 | 0.184 | 10 | Universidade de Brasília | Brazil | 16 wk |
| 26 | Desarrollo y Sociedad 0120-3584 · 1900-7760 | Q4 | 0.176 | 11 | Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá) | Colombia | 12 wk |
| 27 | The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies 1395-4199 · 2246-2163 | Q4 | 0.176 | 19 | CBS Open Journals | Denmark | 32 wk |
| 28 | Anuário do Instituto de Geociências 0101-9759 · 1982-3908 | Q4 | 0.172 | 19 | Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 50 wk |
| 29 | Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business 2385-7137 | Q4 | 0.17 | 8 | Universitat de Barcelona | Spain | 12 wk |
| 30 | Revista Iberoamericana de Estudios de Desarrollo 2254-2035 | Q4 | 0.162 | 11 | Universidad de Zaragoza, Cátedra de Solidaridad y Ciudadanía Global | Spain | 52 wk |
| 31 | Eesti Majanduspoliitilised Väitlused 1736-5597 · 2228-1878 | Q4 | 0.152 | 3 | Mattimar OÜ and Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag GmbH | Estonia | 16 wk |
| 32 | Modern Africa 2336-3274 · 2570-7558 | Q4 | 0.147 | 6 | University of Hradec Králové | Czechia | 24 wk |
| 33 | Field Actions Science Reports 1867-139X · 1867-8521 | Q4 | 0.124 | 21 | Institut Veolia Environnement | France | 11 wk |
| 34 | Civitas - Revista de Ciências Sociais 1519-6089 · 1984-7289 | Q4 | 0.115 | 8 | Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (EDIPUCRS) | Brazil | 35 wk |
| 35 | European Public & Social Innovation Review Scopus: discontinued 2529-9824 | – | – | 9 | HISIN | Spain | 16 wk |
Where these journals come from
Top publishers
- AECR 1
- Afe Babalola University 1
- Bologna University press 1
- Bristol University Press 1
- CBS Open Journals 1
- Corporación Gestión de Riesgos y Desastres GRID-Chile 1
About this list
Diamond open access (also called Platinum) means the journal is free to read and free to publish in: the DOAJ records it with “APC: no” and “other fees: no”. Quartiles come from the latest SCImago edition: Q1 is the top 25% of journals in a subject category, Q4 the bottom 25%; the lists show a journal’s best quartile. Read more in our open access guide.
Before submitting, always confirm the journal on its own website and in the DOAJ, verify Scopus indexing by ISSN with the Scopus check rather than trusting claims on the journal’s site, and watch out for look-alike titles (see the predatory journal checklist).