Mapping the Intellectual Landscape of Circular Economy and SDG 12: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Evolution, Thematic Structure, and Geographical Disparities (2015–2024)
Doe Precious ABSTRACT
The study examined the intersection of circular economy principles and Sustainable Development Goals 12. Adopting the PRISMA methodology the study analyzed 7900 unique documents published between 2015 and 2024 using the Bibliometrix R‐package tool for bibliometric analysis. The findings revealed exponential growth in publications, from 32 articles in 2015 to 2607 in 2024. The study identified a concentrated publication structure with Sustainability and the Journal of Cleaner Production publishing over 18% of all articles. However, citation impact varies substantially across venues. Thematic mapping revealed mature themes around waste management, resource efficiency, and business models, while sustainable consumption, circular design, and sustainability indicators emerged as high‐centrality concepts. The study identified significant geographical disparities. Majority of the studies have been produced in advanced economies; this creates a troubling mismatch between knowledge production and implementation needs across different development contexts. The study concludes that CE‐SDG12 scholarly works have established robust knowledge. However, advancing its contributions to sustainable development requires expanding geographical diversity and creating stronger connections between currently siloed research streams.