Abstract Background Publications in peer-reviewed journals are the main determinants of research rating and funding. The present study assesses worldwide scientific contributions in the field of surgical research. Methods Fifteen major surgical journals were selected for a bibliometric search in Medline/PubMed over a 6-year period (2000–2005). All articles with abstracts were totalled according to country of corresponding author. Publications (total and corrected for population size) and journal impact factor were assessed according to country. Results A total of 18 717 articles were identified. Fifteen countries generated 88·8 per cent of these: the USA produced 42·1 per cent, Japan 9·1 per cent and the UK 7·6 per cent. When corrected for population size, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland topped the ranking; the USA was sixth. Ireland and Switzerland scored the highest mean impact factor. Conclusion The USA is the most productive country in terms of absolute number of surgical publications in the selected journals. However, when population size is taken into consideration, certain smaller European countries were more prolific.