Costa Rica's Top 2% Scientists 2026: Career-Long List
Costa Rica has 20 scientists on the 2026 career-long Top 2% list, up 33.3% from 15 in 2025. That places Costa Rica 92nd in the world by number of listed scientists, up 4 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 career-long count has more than doubled 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
- 5ChemTica Internacional1
- 6Instituto Costarricense de Investigacion y Ensenanza en Nutricion y Salud Costa Rica1
- 7Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica1
- 8Quizarrá1
- 9Raising Coral Costa Rica (RCCR)1
All 20 scientists
Showing the 2026 career-long list. Looking for single-year rankings? See the single-year list
| Rank in Costa Rica | World rank | Scientist | Institute | Sub-field | Rank in sub-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12,632 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 44 | |
| 2 | 13,184 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Entomology | Rank 17 | |
| 3 | 14,595 | Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 231 | |
| 4 | 19,549 | Instituto Costarricense de Investigacion y Ensenanza en Nutricion y Salud Costa Rica | Oncology & Carcinogenesis | Rank 849 | |
| 5 | 46,713 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology | Rank 143 | |
| 6 | 64,355 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 282 | |
| 7 | 66,424 | Raising Coral Costa Rica (RCCR) | Marine Biology & Hydrobiology | Rank 462 | |
| 8 | 79,900 | Universidad Nacional | Microbiology | Rank 1,960 | |
| 9 | 120,363 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Public Health | Rank 1,175 | |
| 10 | 136,055 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Marine Biology & Hydrobiology | Rank 1,112 | |
| 11 | 164,137 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Plant Biology & Botany | Rank 2,412 | |
| 12 | 192,645 | ChemTica Internacional | Organic Chemistry | Rank 3,187 | |
| 13 | 194,664 | Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica | Zoology | Rank 100 | |
| 14 | 204,926 | Universidad Nacional | Environmental & Occupational Health | Rank 210 | |
| 15 | 223,416 | CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza | Forestry | Rank 319 | |
| 16 | 261,817 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Optics | Rank 1,024 | |
| 17 | 313,790 | Universidad de Costa Rica | Toxicology | Rank 1,535 | |
| 18 | 325,065 | CATIE - Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza | Forestry | Rank 536 | |
| 19 | 329,895 | Quizarrá | Ornithology | Rank 100 | |
| 20 | 401,946 | Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica | Forestry | Rank 709 | |
| No scientists match this filter on the career-long list. Try the single-year 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 career-long 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 career-long list, Costa Rica went from 9 scientists in 2020 to 20 in 2026, a change of +122.2%.
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.