Costa Rica's Top 2% Scientists 2025
Costa Rica has 11 scientists on the 2025 single-year Top 2% list, down 15.4% from 13 in 2024. That places Costa Rica 107th in the world by number of listed scientists, down 9 places. Universidad de Costa Rica has the most listed scientists (6), followed by Agencia Costarricense de Investigaciones Biomédicas (ACIB-FUNIN) (1).
Scientists in Costa Rica on the list, by year
The single-year count is unchanged since 2020.
Show the numbers
| Year | Single Year | Change | Career Data | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 11 | 9 | ||
| 2021 | 14 | +27.3% | 13 | +44.4% |
| 2022 | 15 | +7.1% | 13 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 15 | +0.0% | 18 | +38.5% |
| 2024 | 13 | -13.3% | 16 | -11.1% |
| 2025 | 11 | -15.4% | 15 | -6.2% |
Institutes in Costa Rica
By number of listed scientists
All 11 scientists
| Rank in Costa Rica | World rank | Scientist | Institute | Sub-field | Rank in sub-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15,126 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 44 | |
| 2 | 44,868 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Paleontology | Rank 85 | |
| 3 | 53,020 | Agencia Costarricense de Investigaciones Biomédicas (ACIB-FUNIN) | Oncology & Carcinogenesis | Rank 1,596 | |
| 4 | 72,930 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 248 | |
| 5 | 117,420 | Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 1,482 | |
| 6 | 119,157 | Universidad Nacional | Microbiology | Rank 2,290 | |
| 7 | 144,374 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 546 | |
| 8 | 160,232 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Plant Biology & Botany | Rank 2,716 | |
| 9 | 176,508 | CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza | Forestry | Rank 228 | |
| 10 | 284,049 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Marine Biology & Hydrobiology | Rank 1,571 | |
| 11 | 329,946 | Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica | Forestry | Rank 539 | |
| No scientists match this filter. | |||||
Countries with a similar count
Explore other countries
Frequently asked questions
How many scientists from Costa Rica are in the 2025 Stanford Top 2% list?
11 scientists affiliated with Costa Rica are on the 2025 single-year list, and 15 are on the career-long list.
Which institute in Costa Rica has the most Top 2% scientists?
On the 2025 single-year list, Universidad de Costa Rica has the most listed scientists from Costa Rica, with 6. It is followed by Agencia Costarricense de Investigaciones Biomédicas (ACIB-FUNIN) with 1.
How has the number of Top 2% scientists in Costa Rica changed since 2020?
On the single-year list, Costa Rica went from 11 scientists in 2020 to 11 in 2025, a change of +0.0%.
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.