Estonia's Top 2% Scientists 2021

Estonia has 63 scientists on the 2021 single-year Top 2% list, up 8.6% from 58 in 2020. That places Estonia 62nd in the world by number of listed scientists, down 6 places. Tartu Ülikool has the most listed scientists (14), followed by Tallinna Tehnikaülikool (13).

Single Year

+5 (+8.6%) vs 2020

Career Data

+10 (+23.8%) vs 2020

World rank by count

#62

down 6 places vs 2020

Institutes

+7 (+70.0%) vs 2020

Scientists in Estonia on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 9% since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+8.6%

2022+27.0%

2023-3.8%

2024+7.8%

2025+30.1%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	58		42
2021	63	+8.6%	52	+23.8%
2022	80	+27.0%	56	+7.7%
2023	77	-3.8%	67	+19.6%
2024	83	+7.8%	70	+4.5%
2025	108	+30.1%	85	+21.4%

Top 10 institutes in Estonia

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2021

Show the list

All 63 scientists

Single-year list2021

Everyone on the list, free to browse.

Export CSV

Rank in Estonia	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	683	NÜ Niinemets, Ülo	Estonian University of Life Sciences	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 6
2	1,640	HL Hollebeek, Linda D.	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Marketing	Rank 8
3	7,306	TL Tedersoo, Leho	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 93
4	9,296	ZM Zobel, Martin	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Ecology	Rank 238
5	15,144	BR Bhat, Rajeev	Estonian University of Life Sciences	Food Science	Rank 86
6	22,450	KT Kutser, Tiit	Eesti Mereinstituut	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 183
7	25,594	PM Pärtel, Meelis	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Ecology	Rank 585
8	26,269	SS Sugita, Shinya	Institute of Ecology, Tallinn	Paleontology	Rank 51
9	26,982	AJ Allik, Jüri	Academia Scientiarum Estoniae	Social Psychology	Rank 417
10	28,314	KT Koivisto, Tomi S.	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 335
11	31,256	LJ Love, James H.	Tartu Ülikool	Economics	Rank 465
12	40,610	KK Kannike, Kristjan	NICPB	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 491
13	46,138	MÜ Mander, Ülo	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Environmental Engineering	Rank 273
14	47,224	KU Kõljalg, Urmas	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 694
15	50,307	Sak, Katrin	NGO Praeventio	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 1,154
16	53,969	DM Dumas, Marlon	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,250
17	60,387	MM Moora, Mari	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Ecology	Rank 1,234
18	62,304	AR Ahas, Rein	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 1,193
19	68,951	KA Kahru, Anne	Academia Scientiarum Estoniae	Environmental Sciences	Rank 867
20	71,612	AK Abarenkov, Kessy	Tartu Ülikooli loodusmuuseum	Microbiology	Rank 1,629
21	81,813	HJ Harro, Jaanus	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Psychiatry	Rank 1,402
22	86,813	TR Taagepera, Rein	Tartu Ülikool	Political Science & Public Administration	Rank 558
23	87,261	RM Raidal, M.	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 1,090
24	88,226	LÜ Lepik, Ülo	Tartu Ülikool	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 817
25	90,010	ÖM Öpik, Maarja	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 1,402
26	93,475	SS Sakr, Sherif	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 2,091
27	95,949	MA Metspalu, Andres	Tartu Ülikooli Genoomika Instituut	Developmental Biology	Rank 2,737
28	99,220	Vinn, Olev	Tartu Ülikool	Paleontology	Rank 356
29	101,174	SJ Stanturf, John A.	Estonian University of Life Sciences	Forestry	Rank 123
30	110,361	LA Lõhmus, Asko	Tartu Ülikool	Ecology	Rank 2,032
31	114,704	JJ Jürimäe, Jaak	Meditsiiniteaduste Valdkond	Sport Sciences	Rank 505
32	115,940	RM Raidal, Martti	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 1,457
33	121,230	HM Hohmann, Manuel	Tartu Ülikooli Füüsika Instituut	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 1,530
34	122,293	HI Hussainova, Irina	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Materials	Rank 2,383
35	122,666	LI Leito, Ivo	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 886
36	125,329	KT Kalamees, Targo	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Building & Construction	Rank 663
37	136,224	AG Anbarjafari, Gholamreza	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 3,066
38	136,526	TK Tammeveski, Kaido	Tartu Ülikool	Energy	Rank 3,136
39	143,907	TT Tenson, Tanel	Tartu Ülikooli Tehnoloogiainstituut	Microbiology	Rank 3,204
40	154,565	WI Williams, Ingrid H.	Estonian University of Life Sciences	Entomology	Rank 400
41	157,884	KH Kollist, Hannes	Tartu Ülikooli Tehnoloogiainstituut	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 2,504
42	163,080	PG Prause, Gunnar	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Energy	Rank 3,796
43	164,457	TS Tomasiello, Stefania	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 3,690
44	165,927	KM Koel, Mihkel	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 1,300
45	181,325	PM Punab, Margus	Tartu Ülikooli Kliinikum	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 1,260
46	184,653	FA Fazeli, Alireza	Tartu Ülikool	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 1,279
47	190,210	RA Racioppi, Antonio	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 2,305
48	202,491	ST Soomere, Tarmo	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Oceanography	Rank 396
49	216,630	KM Karelson, Mati	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 897
50	219,035	SA Salumets, Andres	Tartu Ülikool	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 1,527
51	222,307	SP Saari, Peeter	Academia Scientiarum Estoniae	Optics	Rank 1,024
52	225,955	OI Ostonen, Ivika	Tartu Ülikool	Forestry	Rank 367
53	246,124	VD Vinnikov, Dmitri	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 919
54	265,268	VR Vaarandi, Risto	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 2,566
55	269,984	NA Norta, Alex	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 6,020
56	281,476	HS Hall, Stephen J.G.	Estonian University of Life Sciences	Dairy & Animal Science	Rank 933
57	308,637	TP Talving, Peep	Tartu Ülikool	Surgery	Rank 2,137
58	348,879	RA Raal, Ain	Meditsiiniteaduste Valdkond	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 1,789
59	384,861	HM Hitch, Michael	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Mining & Metallurgy	Rank 334
60	471,782	HO Husev, Oleksandr	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 1,985
61	530,661	AA Aabloo, Alvo	Tartu Ülikooli Tehnoloogiainstituut	Optoelectronics & Photonics	Rank 1,752
62	634,422	CA Chub, Andrii	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 2,831
63	1,266,246	RA Rassõlkin, Anton	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 6,546
No scientists match this filter.

Showing 1 to 63 of 63 Show

Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2021

Colombia74 scientistsin 2021

Ethiopia68 scientistsin 2021

Lebanon67 scientistsin 2021

Oman63 scientistsin 2021

Macau59 scientistsin 2021

Indonesia58 scientistsin 2021

Explore other countries

Single-year list2021

United Kingdom15,844 scientistsin 2021

Sweden2,438 scientistsin 2021

Denmark1,795 scientistsin 2021

Norway1,100 scientistsin 2021

Finland1,016 scientistsin 2021

Ireland710 scientistsin 2021

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Estonia are in the 2021 Stanford Top 2% list?

63 scientists affiliated with Estonia are on the 2021 single-year list, and 52 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2021 single-year list, Tartu Ülikool has the most listed scientists from Estonia, with 14. It is followed by Tallinna Tehnikaülikool with 13.

How has the number of Top 2% scientists in Estonia changed since 2020?

On the single-year list, Estonia went from 58 scientists in 2020 to 63 in 2021, a change of +8.6%.

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.