Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Geography Compass
ISSN 1749-8198 · Wiley-Blackwell
Geography Compass: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,700; median 238 days to acceptance (73 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 50% (journal website); 72 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Geography Compass is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies, Human auditory perception and evaluation and Educational Robotics and Engineering, together about 31.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Unique in its range, Geography Compass is an online-only journal publishing original, peer-reviewed surveys of current research primarily from the human side of the discipline. Geography Compass is inclusive: it does not privilege any one perspective over another, it is open to all authors, and publishes articles that are both theoretical and practical in orientation, or concerned with methodology, as well as issue-oriented reviews. The journal's emphasis is upon state-of-the-art reviews, supported by a comprehensive bibliography and accessible to an international readership of geographers and scholars in related disciplines. Geography Compass is aimed at students, researchers and non-specialist scholars, and will provide a unique reference tool for researching essays, preparing lectures, writing a research proposal, or just keeping up with new developments in a specific area of interest. Geography Compass... ...supports your research with new articles published monthly, sourced from an international scholarly community. Gain an introduction to new fields, an overview of unfamiliar topics, and familiarity with the latest scholarship and debate. …informs your teaching with lively original articles that are quickly and continuously replenished, and supplemented with teaching guides. Geography Compass will provide you with up-to-date bibliographies and expert analysis on key themes to inspire and engage your students Explore Geography Compass for: A new kind of core content: state-of-the-art surveys of current research discuss the major topics, issues, viewpoints, and controversies within each area of the discipline. Coverage of the entire field highlights connections across sub-disciplines within geographical research Reference-linked bibliographies for each article, providing the ideal entry point into specialist literature. Teaching Guides from article authors to inspire and engage your students. Fast continuous publication: articles typically available 6-8 weeks after acceptance and as an online-only journal, there are no issue restrictions. Fields covered by Geography Compass include: Cultural, Development, Economic, Environment & Society, GIS & Quantitative, Historical, Political, Social, and Urban Geography.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editor-in-chief Mark DavidsonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 4, United Kingdom 2, Singapore 2, Hong Kong, China 1, South Africa 1 (11 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance10.6%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering10.6%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science10.6%
- Geographies of human-animal interactionsSocial Sciences9.9%
- Urban Planning and GovernanceSocial Sciences8.8%
- Cultural Industries and Urban DevelopmentSocial Sciences3.6%
- Migration, Refugees, and IntegrationSocial Sciences3.3%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, Astrophysics Data System
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 6.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.45LetPub ·
- h-index
- 116OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 849OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.02OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 80.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 45LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 45Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 465,420Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,551 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45 | 26 | 5 |
| 2025 | 72 | 50 | 185 |
| 2024 | 60 | 41 | 345 |
| 2023 | 60 | 41 | 558 |
| 2022 | 68 | 31 | 841 |
| 2021 | 65 | 27 | 1,327 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
238 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 161 days – 341 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 10 days (75 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 250 days
- Sample
- 73 articles with submission and acceptance dates (108 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 50%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 50%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 39 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 39 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 241 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,700 / EUR 3,080 / GBP 2,460 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted1
- editorialThe acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Except where otherwise stated…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access
- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal’s Authorship policy in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on author listing eligibility.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process. For details on what to include in this section, see the ‘Conflict of Interest’ section in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Submitting authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
This journal expects data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 4. EDITORIAL POLICIES AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Editorial Review and Acceptance The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are double-blind peer reviewed. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements. Wiley's policy on th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Fees:
Information on the Article Publication Charge for publishing in the journal is available here. If a paper is accepted for publication, the author identified as the formal corresponding author will receive an email prompting them to login to Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS), they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1749-8198
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 20, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Geography Compass
What CAS zone is Geography Compass in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Geography Compass is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Geography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Geography Compass?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.19; CiteScore 6.8, h-index 116.
How long does peer review take at Geography Compass?
Based on the dates recorded on 73 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 238 days (interquartile range 161–341 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 50% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Geography Compass based?
Of the 11 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (4), United Kingdom (2) and Singapore (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Geography Compass?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Geography Compass is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Geography Compass open access, and what is the APC?
Geography Compass is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,700.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .