A bibliometric analysis of mathematical literacy research based on the Scopus database (2005–2025)

Abstract

Mathematical literacy is one of the most relevant research areas in the field of modern mathematical education. The aim of the article is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the development trends, structure and thematic features of scientific publications on mathematical literacy indexed in the Scopus database for the period 2005-2025. The research data were selected using the keywords “mathematical” and “literacy”, and a total of 2276 scientific works were analyzed. The data were exported in BibTeX format and processed in RStudio using Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny tools. The analysis revealed the dynamics of publications over time, leading authors and sources, patterns of scientific collaboration between countries, citation structure, as well as the main thematic areas in the field of mathematical literacy and their evolution. The results show a significant increase in the number of studies on mathematical literacy after 2015.Thematic analyses reveal that while the research initially focused on cognitive and methodological issues, in later years it has increasingly focused on educational practice, assessment and modeling, and applied contexts. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the long-term development trends in the field of mathematical literacy research and identifies relevant areas for future research.