China's Top 2% Scientists 2023

China has 23,487 scientists on the 2023 single-year Top 2% list, up 21.6% from 19,310 in 2022. That places China 2nd in the world by number of listed scientists. Tsinghua University has the most listed scientists (592), followed by Harbin Institute of Technology (389).

Single Year

23,487

+4,177 (+21.6%) vs 2022

Career Data

9,013

+1,320 (+17.2%) vs 2022

World rank by count

No change vs 2022

Institutes

1,422

+216 (+17.9%) vs 2022

Scientists in China on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 81% 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%

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%

Top 10 institutes in China

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2023

Show the list

1Tsinghua University592
2Harbin Institute of Technology389
3Central South University384
4Huazhong University of Science and Technology384
5Shanghai Jiao Tong University380
6Tianjin University327
7Xi'an Jiaotong University306
8Fudan University303
9Peking University289
10Sun Yat-Sen University276

All 23,487 scientists

Single-year list2023

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	43	ZJ Zhu, Jian Kang	Southern University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 1
3	44	RD Rubin, Donald B.	Tsinghua University	Statistics & Probability	Rank 2
4	91	HJ He, Ji Huan	Soochow University	Energy	Rank 2
5	110	XZ Xu, Zeshui	Business School of Sichuan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 12
6	123	SM Shahbaz, Muhammad	Beijing Institute of Technology	Energy	Rank 5
7	147	ZZ Zhou, Zhi Hua	Nanjing University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 14
8	165	WJ Wang, Jianlong	Tsinghua University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 1
9	267	SC Shi, Caijun	Hunan University	Building & Construction	Rank 2
10	274	DL Dai, Liming	Ocean University of China	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 10
11	284	LY Liu, Yansui	Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences	Geography	Rank 1
12	406	ZQ Zhang, Qiang	Tsinghua University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 16
13	447	MW Ma, Wen Xiu	Zhejiang Normal University	Mathematical Physics	Rank 1
14	461	YJ Yu, Jiaguo	China University of Geosciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 19
15	473	LK Lu, K.	Institute of Metal Research Chinese Academy of Sciences	Materials	Rank 8
16	563	WF Wang, Fei Yue	Institute of Automation Chinese Academy of Sciences	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 38
17	609	ZR Zhang, Rui	The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 3
18	656	CL Chen, Ling Ling	CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science	Developmental Biology	Rank 25
19	665	ZZ Zhang, Zhengyou	Tencent	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 43
20	668	LY Li, Yongfang	Soochow University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 24
21	680	NC Nan, Ce Wen	Tsinghua University	Materials	Rank 10
22	744	Yu, Guangchuang	Southern Medical University	Bioinformatics	Rank 7
23	745	SD Sun, Da Wen	South China University of Technology	Food Science	Rank 7
24	758	IA Inoue, Akihisa	Tianjin University	Materials	Rank 13
25	793	FB Fu, Bojie	Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences	Ecology	Rank 17
26	801	SJ Shi, Jianlin	Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences	Materials	Rank 15
27	826	CX Cao, Xuetao	Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College	Immunology	Rank 32
28	838	CT Cui, Tie Jun	Southeast University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 6
29	897	TS Tong, Shaocheng	Liaoning University of Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 52
30	904	ME Ma, Evan	Xi'an Jiaotong University	Materials	Rank 18
31	913	WX Wang, Xinchen	Fuzhou University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 7
32	920	XL Xu, Lida	Guangdong Institute of Intelligence Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 53
33	944	TB Tang, Ben Zhong	The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 32
34	985	ZG Zeng, Guangming	Hunan University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 11
35	1,075	YH Yu, Han Qing	CAS Key Laboratory Of Urban Pollutant Conversion	Environmental Sciences	Rank 13
36	1,116	TC Tang, Chuan He	South China University of Technology	Food Science	Rank 10
37	1,122	CC Chen, C. L.Philip	South China University of Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 58
38	1,164	WG Wei, Guiwu	Sichuan Normal University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 63
39	1,175	LJ Liu, Jun	Central South University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 35
40	1,186	SJ Stoddart, J. Fraser	Zhejiang University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 13
41	1,190	SJ Sun, Jian	Beijing MEGVII Technology Co., Ltd.	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 65
42	1,209	XH Xie, Heping	Sichuan University	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 5
43	1,215	ZL Zhang, Liangpei	Wuhan University	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 6
44	1,223	LT Lu, Tian	Beijing Kein Research Center for Natural Sciences	Chemical Physics	Rank 24
45	1,228	SG Song, Guang Ling	Xiamen University	Materials	Rank 22
46	1,257	LY Lei, Yaguo	Xi'an Jiaotong University	Acoustics	Rank 1
47	1,261	SY Shi, Yigong	Westlake University	Developmental Biology	Rank 43
48	1,268	CH Cheng, Hui Ming	Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 39
49	1,283	ZY Zheng, Yu	JD Intelligent Cities Research	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 68
50	1,288	LX Li, X. U.	Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 8
51	1,317	ZY Zheng, Yong Fei	CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 9
52	1,321	LY Li, Yadong	Tsinghua University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 42
53	1,339	LZ Liu, Zhuang	Soochow University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 43
54	1,353	SH Shen, Hui Shen	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 13
55	1,418	WG Wang, Gai Ge	Ocean University of China	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 76
56	1,436	YS Yu, Shu Hong	Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 48
57	1,438	ZJ Zhang, Jiujun	College of Sciences	Energy	Rank 38
58	1,452	LB Lin, Boqiang	Xiamen University	Energy	Rank 39
59	1,458	WW Wang, Wei Hua	University of Science and Technology Beijing	Applied Physics	Rank 43
60	1,490	LP Liu, Peide	Shandong University of Finance and Economics	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 79
61	1,504	Wang, Qiang	China University of Petroleum (East China)	Environmental Sciences	Rank 19
62	1,518	ZT Zhang, Tao	Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences	Physical Chemistry	Rank 5
63	1,540	ZY Zhu, Yongguan	Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences Chinese Academy of Sciences	Environmental Sciences	Rank 20
64	1,574	HB Hommel, Bernhard	Shandong Normal University	Experimental Psychology	Rank 23
65	1,593	ZZ Zhang, Zhongheng	Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 40
66	1,601	GS Guo, Shaojun	Peking University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 53
67	1,614	WE Weinan, E.	Peking University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 7
68	1,645	ZY Zhang, Yue Jun	Hunan University	Energy	Rank 43
69	1,663	ZC Zou, Caineng	Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 13
70	1,683	CY Chu, Yu Ming	Huzhou University	General Mathematics	Rank 6
71	1,703	HK Hashimoto, Kenji	Chiba University	Psychiatry	Rank 41
72	1,706	SD Shen, Dinggang	ShanghaiTech University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 83
73	1,707	XQ Xu, Qiang	Southern University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 22
74	1,712	DY Deng, Yong	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 84
75	1,715	XY Xie, Yi	Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 60
76	1,721	Danish, Danish	Guangdong University of Foreign Studies	Environmental Sciences	Rank 22
77	1,724	CP Chu, Paul K.	City University of Hong Kong	Applied Physics	Rank 48
78	1,726	LC Lee, Chien Chiang	Nanchang University	Economics	Rank 38
79	1,748	LH Long, Hualou	Guangxi University	Geography	Rank 8
80	1,774	PM Peiris, Malik	The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine	Microbiology	Rank 34
81	1,785	GY Guo, Yu Guo	Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 62
82	1,811	WB Wang, Bin	Institute of Atmospheric Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 20
83	1,815	XJ Xiao, Jianzhuang	Tongji University	Building & Construction	Rank 13
84	1,827	HL Han, Lin Hai	Tsinghua University	Civil Engineering	Rank 3
85	1,828	FC Fang, Chuanglin	Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences	Geography	Rank 9
86	1,851	LH Li, Hong	Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences	Energy	Rank 46
87	1,899	XR Xiong, Rui	Beijing Institute of Technology	Energy	Rank 49
88	1,915	PS Piao, Shilong	Peking University	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 21
89	1,933	GD Gu, Dongdong	Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics	Materials	Rank 38
90	1,936	HW Huang, Wei	Northwestern Polytechnical University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 66
91	1,939	GC Gao, Caixia	Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 19
92	1,957	AZ An, Zhisheng	Institute of Earth Environment	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 18
93	1,966	LC Li, Can	Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences	Physical Chemistry	Rank 8
94	1,967	JL Jiang, Lei	Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 70
95	2,014	XH Xu, Hanqiu	Fuzhou University	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 13
96	2,041	GJ Gong, Jinlong	Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education	Organic Chemistry	Rank 24
97	2,078	WS Wei, Su Huai	Beijing Computational Science Research Center	Applied Physics	Rank 59
98	2,088	CJ Chen, Jun	Nankai University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 75
99	2,106	PS Pennycook, Stephen J.	University of Chinese Academy of Sciences	Applied Physics	Rank 61
100	2,129	YY Yu, Yan	Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 78
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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2023

United States69,386 scientistsin 2023

United Kingdom16,795 scientistsin 2023

Germany10,088 scientistsin 2023

Canada7,889 scientistsin 2023

Australia7,600 scientistsin 2023

Italy7,099 scientistsin 2023

Explore other countries

Single-year list2023

Japan5,694 scientistsin 2023

South Korea3,240 scientistsin 2023

Hong Kong1,452 scientistsin 2023

Taiwan1,420 scientistsin 2023

Macau105 scientistsin 2023

India4,635 scientistsin 2023

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from China are in the 2023 Stanford Top 2% list?

23,487 scientists affiliated with China are on the 2023 single-year list, and 9,013 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2023 single-year list, Tsinghua University has the most listed scientists from China, with 592. It is followed by Harbin Institute of Technology with 389.

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 23,487 in 2023, a change of +81.3%.

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.