Costa Rica's Top 2% Scientists 2025: Career-Long List
Costa Rica has 15 scientists on the 2025 career-long Top 2% list, down 6.2% from 16 in 2024. That places Costa Rica 96th in the world by number of listed scientists, down 7 places. Universidad de Costa Rica has the most listed scientists (6), followed by CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (2).
Scientists in Costa Rica on the list, by year
The career-long count has grown 67% 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
Show the list
- 1Universidad de Costa Rica6
- 2CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza2
- 3Universidad Nacional2
- 4Agencia Costarricense de Investigaciones Biomédicas (ACIB-FUNIN)1
- 5ChemTica Internacional1
- 6Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica1
- 7Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica1
- 8Universidad Hispanoamericana1
All 15 scientists
| Rank in Costa Rica | World rank | Scientist | Institute | Sub-field | Rank in sub-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12,745 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 41 | |
| 2 | 13,805 | Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 215 | |
| 3 | 18,455 | Agencia Costarricense de Investigaciones Biomédicas (ACIB-FUNIN) | Oncology & Carcinogenesis | Rank 807 | |
| 4 | 64,237 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 281 | |
| 5 | 82,962 | Universidad Nacional | Microbiology | Rank 2,054 | |
| 6 | 119,134 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Public Health | Rank 1,129 | |
| 7 | 135,096 | Universidad Hispanoamericana | Nutrition & Dietetics | Rank 927 | |
| 8 | 141,400 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Marine Biology & Hydrobiology | Rank 1,179 | |
| 9 | 165,763 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Plant Biology & Botany | Rank 2,428 | |
| 10 | 183,782 | ChemTica Internacional | Organic Chemistry | Rank 3,081 | |
| 11 | 189,760 | Universidad Nacional | Environmental & Occupational Health | Rank 196 | |
| 12 | 245,944 | CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza | Forestry | Rank 364 | |
| 13 | 250,825 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Optics | Rank 1,021 | |
| 14 | 306,603 | CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza | Forestry | Rank 500 | |
| 15 | 408,829 | Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica | Forestry | Rank 726 | |
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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 career-long list, Universidad de Costa Rica has the most listed scientists from Costa Rica, with 6. 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 career-long list, Costa Rica went from 9 scientists in 2020 to 15 in 2025, a change of +66.7%.
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.