Bulgaria's Top 2% Scientists 2025

Bulgaria has 63 scientists on the 2025 single-year Top 2% list, down 10.0% from 70 in 2024. That places Bulgaria 76th in the world by number of listed scientists, down 7 places. Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski has the most listed scientists (12), followed by Medical University of Sofia (6).

Single Year

-7 (-10.0%) vs 2024

Career Data

+4 (+4.6%) vs 2024

World rank by count

#76

down 7 places vs 2024

Institutes

+3 (+10.0%) vs 2024

Scientists in Bulgaria on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 80% since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+37.1%

2022+14.6%

2023+5.5%

2024+20.7%

2025-10.0%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	35		50
2021	48	+37.1%	73	+46.0%
2022	55	+14.6%	76	+4.1%
2023	58	+5.5%	79	+3.9%
2024	70	+20.7%	87	+10.1%
2025	63	-10.0%	91	+4.6%

Top 10 institutes in Bulgaria

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2025

Show the list

All 63 scientists

Single-year list2025

Everyone on the list, free to browse.

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Rank in Bulgaria	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	837	AK Atanassov, Krassimir T.	Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 55
2	4,110	VG van Gool, Luc J.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 222
3	4,991	IS Ivanov, Stanislav H.	Varna University of Management	Sport, Leisure & Tourism	Rank 27
4	10,950	HK Hadjiivanov, Konstantin I.	Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Physical Chemistry	Rank 37
5	17,007	KI Kostova, Irena P.	Medical University of Sofia	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 52
6	19,701	BV Bankova, Vassya Stefanova	Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry (IOCCP) Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 60
7	19,856	DA Dzhambov, Angel Mario	Medical University of Plovdiv	Toxicology	Rank 58
8	20,227	DI Doytchinova, I. Atanas	Medical University of Sofia	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 61
9	26,109	PS Petcov, Serguey T.	Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 332
10	27,149	DN Denkov, Nikolai	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Chemical Physics	Rank 395
11	30,451	YS Yazadjiev, Stoytcho S.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 411
12	34,022	VS Vassilev, Stanislav V.	Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography “Acad. Ivan Kostov”	Energy	Rank 929
13	39,438	GM Georgiev, Milen I.	Institute of Microbiology Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Biotechnology	Rank 140
14	40,378	MM Minkov, Michael	Varna University of Management	Social Psychology	Rank 592
15	41,465	VN Vitanov, Nikolay V.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	General Physics	Rank 272
16	54,723	KD Kashchiev, Dimo	Institute of Physical Chemistry Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Chemical Physics	Rank 703
17	66,033	VV Velikova, Violeta B.	Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 1,020
18	68,886	VN Vitanov, Nikolay K.	Institute of Mechanics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 465
19	90,261	PV Popov, Valentin N.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Applied Physics	Rank 1,703
20	91,590	DV Dimitrov, Vesselin V.	University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy Sofia	Applied Physics	Rank 1,729
21	91,767	IB Ivanov, Boyko V.	Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 1,180
22	91,921	NM Nikolova, Maria P.	University of Rousse	Materials	Rank 2,044
23	95,885	BL Boyanova, Lyudmila Y.	Medical University of Sofia	Microbiology	Rank 1,820
24	98,306	KV Kiryakova, Virginia	Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	General Mathematics	Rank 480
25	104,764	MV Mladenov, Valeri Markov	Technical University of Sofia	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 4,467
26	106,913	PD Pavlov, Detchko	The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Energy	Rank 3,284
27	107,093	Stoev, Stoycho D.	Trakia University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine	Toxicology	Rank 398
28	107,178	VM Vinciguerra, Manlio	Medical University-Varna	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 3,256
29	132,330	DT Dudev, Todor M.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Chemical Physics	Rank 1,539
30	134,824	VG Vayssilov, Georgi N.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Chemical Physics	Rank 1,575
31	141,432	EA Edreva, Aglika M.	Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 2,362
32	150,712	AI Avramov, I.	The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Applied Physics	Rank 2,863
33	150,969	KP Kralchevsky, Peter Atanassov	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Chemical Physics	Rank 1,756
34	154,771	GT Gechev, Tsanko S.	Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 2,622
35	156,075	KA Krastanov, Albert Ivanov	University of Food Technologies-Plovdiv	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 2,646
36	156,324	HJ Hristov, Jordan Yankov	University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy Sofia	Energy	Rank 4,958
37	160,595	TS Tcholakova, S. S.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Chemical Physics	Rank 1,846
38	163,288	PT Popov, T. A.	Sveti Ivan Rilski hospital	Allergy	Rank 311
39	164,580	MA Milchev, Alexander A.	The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Energy	Rank 5,221
40	164,764	AL Antonov, Liudmil M.	Institute of Electronics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Organic Chemistry	Rank 2,179
41	168,950	VC Vassileva, Christina G.	Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography “Acad. Ivan Kostov”	Energy	Rank 5,356
42	181,598	GV Goltsev, Vasilij N.	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 3,103
43	189,389	DK Danov, Krassimir Dimitrov	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Chemical Physics	Rank 2,129
44	215,856	BV Butova, Vera V.	Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 878
45	218,903	DI Dimitrov, Ivan D.	Medical University of Sofia	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 976
46	221,319	SS Stefanov, Stefan Kanchev	Institute of Mechanics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	General Physics	Rank 1,200
47	227,529	GT Gateva-Ivanova, Tatiana V.	American University in Bulgaria	General Mathematics	Rank 1,181
48	227,669	PA Popova, Angelina K.	University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy Sofia	Materials	Rank 5,670
49	234,069	PM Popova, Milena Petkova	Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry (IOCCP) Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 1,061
50	293,075	TN Tzvetkov, Nikolay T.	Roumen Tsanev Institute of Molecular Biology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 1,407
51	293,413	HK Hristov, Kiril	Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 3,382
52	294,080	Tchernev, Georgi	Medical University of Sofia	Dentistry	Rank 1,427
53	311,787	ZD Zheleva-Dimitrova, Dimitrina Zh	Medical University of Sofia	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 1,540
54	335,585	DK Dokova, Klara Georgieva	Medical University-Varna	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 3,850
55	354,776	MO Mekenyan, Ovanes G.	Bourgas Prof. Assen Zlatarov University	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 1,823
56	356,553	MI Mladenova, Irena	Trakia University Faculty of Medicine	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 4,075
57	500,486	HN Hinov, Nikolay L.	Technical University of Sofia	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 2,492
58	501,040	DH Daskalov, Hristo	National Diagnostic Veterinary Research Institute	Veterinary Sciences	Rank 1,155
59	624,048	DT Dachev, Ts P.	Space Research and Technology Institute	Aerospace & Aeronautics	Rank 1,320
60	769,246	PM Panayotova, Marinela I.	University of Mining and Geology St. Ivan Rilski	Mining & Metallurgy	Rank 811
61	774,083	RV Rizov, Victor Iliev	University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy	Materials	Rank 21,517
62	1,057,938	BK Bliznakova, Kristina S.	Medical University-Varna	Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging	Rank 8,029
63	2,791,143	GD Georgiev, Dilian G.	Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv	Zoology	Rank 2,871
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Showing 1 to 63 of 63 Show

Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2025

Kenya69 scientists

Philippines69 scientists

Iceland66 scientists

Kazakhstan59 scientists

Sri Lanka53 scientists

Peru51 scientists

Explore other countries

Single-year list2025

Poland1,434 scientists

Russia962 scientists

Czech Republic538 scientists

Hungary345 scientists

Romania294 scientists

Slovakia122 scientists

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Bulgaria are in the 2025 Stanford Top 2% list?

63 scientists affiliated with Bulgaria are on the 2025 single-year list, and 91 are on the career-long list.

Which institute in Bulgaria has the most Top 2% scientists?

On the 2025 single-year list, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski has the most listed scientists from Bulgaria, with 12. It is followed by Medical University of Sofia with 6.

How has the number of Top 2% scientists in Bulgaria changed since 2020?

On the single-year list, Bulgaria went from 35 scientists in 2020 to 63 in 2025, a change of +80.0%.

What is the difference between the single-year and career-long lists?

The single-year list ranks scientists on the citations their work received in one year. The career-long list ranks them on citations across their whole career. Both lists are published every year, and a scientist can be on one, both or neither.

What is the official source of this data?

The rankings come from the science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators published by Ioannidis et al. in the Elsevier Data Repository, updated every year. TOPSCINET, an independent platform, organises that data by country, year, institute and field, so you can compare and explore it.