China's Top 2% Scientists 2026

China has 37,203 scientists on the 2026 single-year Top 2% list, up 17.4% from 31,697 in 2025. That places China 2nd in the world by number of listed scientists. Tsinghua University has the most listed scientists (848), followed by University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (652).

Single Year

37,203

+5,506 (+17.4%) vs 2025

Career Data

14,583

+2,208 (+17.8%) vs 2025

World rank by count

No change vs 2025

Institutes

2,867

+596 (+26.2%) vs 2025

Scientists in China on the list, by year

The single-year count has more than doubled since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+28.2%

2022+16.2%

2023+21.6%

2024+15.7%

2025+16.7%

2026+17.4%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	12,955		5,273
2021	16,611	+28.2%	6,943	+31.7%
2022	19,310	+16.2%	7,693	+10.8%
2023	23,487	+21.6%	9,013	+17.2%
2024	27,166	+15.7%	10,689	+18.6%
2025	31,697	+16.7%	12,375	+15.8%
2026	37,203	+17.4%	14,583	+17.8%

Top 10 institutes in China

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2026

Show the list

1Tsinghua University848
2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences652
3Shanghai Jiao Tong University580
4Huazhong University of Science and Technology482
5Peking University481
6Tianjin University430
7Fudan University421
8Sun Yat-Sen University415
9Southeast University412
10Beihang University385

All 37,203 scientists

Single-year list2026

Showing the 2026 single-year list. Looking for career rankings? See the career-long list

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in China	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	1	Wang, Zhong Lin	Chinese Academy of Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 1
2	31	LT Lu, Tian	Beijing Kein Research Center for Natural Sciences	Chemical Physics	Rank 3
3	55	ZJ Zhu, Jian Kang	Southern University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 1
4	129	SC Shi, Caijun	Hunan University	Building & Construction	Rank 1
5	185	WJ Wang, Jianlong	Tsinghua University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 1
6	254	ZZ Zhou, Zhihua	Nanjing University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 17
7	258	XZ Xu, Zeshui	Sichuan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 18
8	268	Yu, Guangchuang	Southern Medical University	Bioinformatics	Rank 5
9	269	RS Ramakrishna, Seeram	Tsinghua University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 9
10	289	HJ He, Ji Huan	Yango University	Energy	Rank 9
11	309	JY Jin, Yaochu	Westlake University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 21
12	335	LY Liu, Yansui	Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences	Geography	Rank 1
13	369	LB Lin, Boqiang	Xiamen University	Energy	Rank 11
14	376	FB Fu, Bojie	Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences	Ecology	Rank 7
15	403	LD Lovley, Derek R.	School of Material Science and Engineering, Northeastern University	Microbiology	Rank 4
16	443	ZD Zhang, Dongyang	Capital University of EcoNomics and Business	Finance	Rank 2
17	494	DG Duan, Guangren	Harbin Institute of Technology	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 1
18	511	LY Luo, Yadong	Sun Yat-sen Business School	Business & Management	Rank 18
19	535	ZQ Zhang, Qiang	Tsinghua University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 15
20	568	XH Xie, Heping	Shenzhen University	Energy	Rank 17
21	571	LZ Lyu, Zhihan	Xidian University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 3
22	592	YJ Yu, Jiaguo	China University of Geosciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 19
23	623	NC Nan, Cewen	Tsinghua University	Materials	Rank 11
24	629	Xiao, Jianbo	Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University	Food Science	Rank 8
25	638	WF Wilczek, Frank A.	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 6
26	663	CT Cui, Tiejun Cui	Southeast University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 5
27	703	LX Li, Xuelong	China Telecom Corporation Limited	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 50
28	714	SM Santosh, M. Warrier	China University of Geosciences, Beijing	Geology	Rank 1
29	739	LK Lu, Ke	Liaoning Academy of Materials	Materials	Rank 13
30	756	XJ Xiao, Jianzhuang	Tongji University	Building & Construction	Rank 8
31	768	HG Huang, Gao	Tsinghua University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 52
32	803	ZL Zhang, Liangpei	Aerospace Information Research Institute	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 4
33	807	WE Weinan, E. W.	Peking University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 3
34	808	RN Rabiee, Navid	Tsinghua School of Medicine	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 24
35	819	ZZ Zhang, Zhongheng	Zhejiang University School of Medicine	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 17
36	857	ZR Zhang, Rui	The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 8
37	866	CL Chen, Lingling	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	Developmental Biology	Rank 23
38	868	SJ Shi, Jianlin Ling	Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 28
39	869	CC Chen, C. L.philip	South China University of Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 57
40	879	SR Sun, Runcang Cang	Dalian Polytechnic University	Polymers	Rank 5
41	890	ME Ma, Evan E.	School of Materials Science and Engineering	Materials	Rank 15
42	894	LY Lei, Yaguo	Xi'an Jiaotong University	Acoustics	Rank 1
43	911	ZY Zheng, Yong-Fei	University of Science and Technology of China	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 3
44	946	HD Hou, Deyi	Tsinghua University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 17
45	994	TB Tang, Ben Zhong	The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 30
46	1,013	FC Fang, Chuangling Lin	University of Chinese Academy of Sciences	Geography	Rank 5
47	1,037	ZJ Zhang, Jiujun	Fuzhou University	Energy	Rank 26
48	1,052	LH Li, H.	Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 32
49	1,083	HY Huang, Yunhui	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 34
50	1,099	ZY Zhu, Yongguan	Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences	Environmental Sciences	Rank 23
51	1,101	MM Maes, Michael H.J.	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	Psychiatry	Rank 29
52	1,116	PS Piao, Shilong Long	Peking University	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 12
53	1,166	MJ Ma, Jiayi	Wuhan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 80
54	1,168	HM He, Manchao	China University of Mining and Technology	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 7
55	1,177	ZY ZHANG, Yong	University of Science and Technology Beijing	Materials	Rank 19
56	1,214	KV Kumar, V.	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	Marketing	Rank 12
57	1,234	GC Gao, Caixia	Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 12
58	1,266	HL Han, L. H.	Tsinghua University	Civil Engineering	Rank 5
59	1,304	GH Gao, Huajian	Tsinghua University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 10
60	1,317	XH Xu, Han Qiu	Fuzhou University	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 10
61	1,351	PJ Pan, Jianwei	Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale	General Physics	Rank 14
62	1,353	YH Yu, Hanqing	Chinese Academy of Sciences	Environmental Sciences	Rank 27
63	1,396	SJ Stoddart, James Fraser	Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 10
64	1,398	WF Wu, Feng	Beijing Institute of Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 41
65	1,403	SJ Sun, Jian	Beijing MEGVII Technology Co., Ltd.	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 90
66	1,415	GJ Gong, Jinlong	Tianjin University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 11
67	1,428	TC Tang, Chuanhe	South China University of Technology	Food Science	Rank 12
68	1,439	SG Song, Guangling	Southern University of Science and Technology	Materials	Rank 29
69	1,464	AM Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar	Northwest A&F University	Biotechnology	Rank 4
70	1,476	TS Tong, Shaocheng	Liaoning University of Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 93
71	1,536	Chen, Shifu	Shenzhen Haplox Biotechnology Co., Ltd.	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 29
72	1,537	ZC Zou, Caineng Nneng	Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 10
73	1,580	ZY Zheng, Yu	Southwest Jiaotong University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 97
74	1,585	HX He, Xiangnan	University of Science and Technology of China	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 98
75	1,596	ZX Zhang, Xiangyu	Beijing MEGVII Technology Co., Ltd.	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 100
76	1,597	SS Sun, Shaocong	Capital Medical University	Immunology	Rank 31
77	1,613	CC Chi-Shing Cho, William Chi Shing	Queen Elizabeth Hospital Hong Kong	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 32
78	1,615	XR Xiong, Rui	Beijing Institute of Technology	Energy	Rank 36
79	1,655	ML Mai, Liqiang	Wuhan University of Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 47
80	1,667	LP Liu, Peide	Shandong University of Finance and Economics	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 105
81	1,693	GJ Guerreros, Josep M.	Zhejiang University	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 3
82	1,702	ZY Zhou, Yuekuan	Central South University	Energy	Rank 39
83	1,716	LY Liu, Yu	Nankai University	Biotechnology	Rank 5
84	1,726	CL Chen, Liquan	Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences	Energy	Rank 40
85	1,766	WY Wang, Yongjun	Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 95
86	1,791	HL Hu, Liangbing	Shaanxi University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 51
87	1,792	LX Liu, Xinwang	National University of Defense Technology China	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 110
88	1,813	LC Li, Can	University of Chinese Academy of Sciences	Physical Chemistry	Rank 6
89	1,814	SD Shen, Dinggang	Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd.	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 112
90	1,832	HH Hao, Hong	Guangzhou University	Civil Engineering	Rank 6
91	1,838	AT Algeo, Thomas J.	China University of Geosciences	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 12
92	1,858	ZZ Zuo, Zongyu	Beihang University	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 15
93	1,881	SY Shi, Yigong	Westlake University	Developmental Biology	Rank 47
94	1,885	GJ Gu, Junwei	Northwestern Polytechnical University	Materials	Rank 36
95	1,918	LZ Li, Zhiming	Central South University	Materials	Rank 37
96	1,919	TM Tonetti, Maurizio S.	Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine	Dentistry	Rank 3
97	1,925	WW Wang, Weihua Hong	Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences	Applied Physics	Rank 48
98	1,947	YS Yu, Shuhong	Southern University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 57
99	1,977	WY Wang, Yongliang	North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power	Languages & Linguistics	Rank 13
100	1,986	LY Li, Yadong	Tsinghua University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 59
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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2026

United States73,638 scientists

United Kingdom18,300 scientists

Germany10,938 scientists

Australia8,971 scientists

Italy8,537 scientists

Canada8,528 scientists

Explore other countries

Single-year list2026

Japan5,739 scientists

South Korea4,001 scientists

Hong Kong2,108 scientists

Taiwan1,509 scientists

Macau234 scientists

India6,953 scientists

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from China are in the 2026 Stanford Top 2% list?

37,203 scientists affiliated with China are on the 2026 single-year list, and 14,583 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2026 single-year list, Tsinghua University has the most listed scientists from China, with 848. It is followed by University of Chinese Academy of Sciences with 652.

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

On the single-year list, China went from 12,955 scientists in 2020 to 37,203 in 2026, a change of +187.2%.

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.