Costa Rica's Top 2% Scientists 2026
Costa Rica has 20 scientists on the 2026 single-year Top 2% list, up 81.8% from 11 in 2025. That places Costa Rica 96th in the world by number of listed scientists, up 11 places. Universidad de Costa Rica has the most listed scientists (9), followed by CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (2).
Scientists in Costa Rica on the list, by year
The single-year count has grown 82% 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% |
| 2026 | 20 | +81.8% | 20 | +33.3% |
Institutes in Costa Rica
By number of listed scientists
Show the list
- 1Universidad de Costa Rica9
- 2CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza2
- 3Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica2
- 4Universidad Nacional2
- 5Centro Nacional de Alta Tecnología (CENAT)1
- 6Instituto Costarricense de Investigacion y Ensenanza en Nutricion y Salud Costa Rica1
- 7Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica1
- 8Raising Coral Costa Rica (RCCR)1
- 9Universidad Santa Paula1
All 20 scientists
Showing the 2026 single-year list. Looking for career rankings? See the career-long list
| Rank in Costa Rica | World rank | Scientist | Institute | Sub-field | Rank in sub-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18,366 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 55 | |
| 2 | 29,882 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology | Rank 42 | |
| 3 | 36,198 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Entomology | Rank 55 | |
| 4 | 43,667 | Universidad Nacional | Microbiology | Rank 828 | |
| 5 | 57,496 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 788 | |
| 6 | 60,726 | Raising Coral Costa Rica (RCCR) | Marine Biology & Hydrobiology | Rank 299 | |
| 7 | 60,830 | Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica | Business & Management | Rank 1,479 | |
| 8 | 67,005 | Instituto Costarricense de Investigacion y Ensenanza en Nutricion y Salud Costa Rica | Oncology & Carcinogenesis | Rank 2,030 | |
| 9 | 95,298 | CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza | Ecology | Rank 1,797 | |
| 10 | 101,847 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 353 | |
| 11 | 106,349 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 377 | |
| 12 | 115,522 | Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 1,558 | |
| 13 | 143,800 | CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza | Forestry | Rank 192 | |
| 14 | 154,379 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Marine Biology & Hydrobiology | Rank 799 | |
| 15 | 154,565 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Public Health | Rank 1,579 | |
| 16 | 157,596 |
LH
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Universidad Santa Paula | Neurology & Neurosurgery | Rank 6,240 |
| 17 | 178,164 | Centro Nacional de Alta Tecnología (CENAT) | Mycology & Parasitology | Rank 238 | |
| 18 | 186,873 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Plant Biology & Botany | Rank 3,305 | |
| 19 | 191,211 | Universidad Nacional | Sport Sciences | Rank 909 | |
| 20 | 290,653 | Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica | Zoology | Rank 107 | |
| No scientists match this filter on the single-year list. Try the career-long list | |||||
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Frequently asked questions
How many scientists from Costa Rica are in the 2026 Stanford Top 2% list?
20 scientists affiliated with Costa Rica are on the 2026 single-year list, and 20 are on the career-long list.
Which institute in Costa Rica has the most Top 2% scientists?
On the 2026 single-year list, Universidad de Costa Rica has the most listed scientists from Costa Rica, with 9. It is followed by CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza with 2.
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 20 in 2026, a change of +81.8%.
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.