Estonia's Top 2% Scientists 2023: Career-Long List

Estonia has 67 scientists on the 2023 career-long Top 2% list, up 19.6% from 56 in 2022. That places Estonia 58th in the world by number of listed scientists, up 1 place. Tartu Ülikool has the most listed scientists (19), followed by Tallinna Tehnikaülikool (10).

Single Year

-3 (-3.8%) vs 2022

Career Data

+11 (+19.6%) vs 2022

World rank by count

#58

up 1 place vs 2022

Institutes

+2 (+12.5%) vs 2022

Scientists in Estonia on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 60% since 2020.

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+23.8%

2022+7.7%

2023+19.6%

2024+4.5%

2025+21.4%

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

Career-long list2023

Show the list

All 67 scientists

Career-long list2023

Everyone on the list, free to browse.

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Rank in Estonia	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	1,782	NÜ Niinemets, Ülo	Eesti Maaülikool	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 9
2	13,214	ZM Zobel, Martin	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Ecology	Rank 241
3	16,690	RM Raidal, M.	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 237
4	26,895	FA Forbes, Alastair	Tartu Ülikool	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 424
5	33,753	BM Brik, M. G.	Tartu Ülikooli Füüsika Instituut	Applied Physics	Rank 855
6	38,493	KT Koivisto, Tomi	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 589
7	40,572	TL Tedersoo, Leho	Tartu Ülikool	Microbiology	Rank 1,017
8	41,889	AJ Allik, Jüri	Tartu Ülikool	Social Psychology	Rank 403
9	43,799	PM Pärtel, Meelis	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Ecology	Rank 754
10	45,878	SS Sugita, S.	Institute of Ecology, Tallinn	Paleontology	Rank 148
11	47,325	LJ Love, James H.	Tartu Ülikool	Economics	Rank 389
12	54,165	BR Bhat, Rajeev	Eesti Maaülikool	Food Science	Rank 236
13	57,043	DM Dumas, Marlon	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,104
14	66,634	HJ Harro, Jaanus	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Psychiatry	Rank 1,255
15	72,083	KT Kutser, Tiit	Eesti Mereinstituut	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 293
16	72,821	SA Samoson, Ago	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Chemical Physics	Rank 1,452
17	92,461	WI Williams, Ingrid H.	Eesti Maaülikool	Entomology	Rank 248
18	101,648	KM Karelson, Mati	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 336
19	104,674	KK Kannike, Kristjan	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 1,705
20	107,769	MÜ Mander, Ülo	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Environmental Engineering	Rank 498
21	109,562	GI Goodson, Ivor	Tallinna Ülikool	Education	Rank 607
22	111,716	KA Kuusk, Andres	Tartu Ülikool	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 499
23	113,220	MA Metspalu, Andres	Tartu Ülikooli Genoomika Instituut	Developmental Biology	Rank 3,188
24	119,163	PK Prashanth, K. G.	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Materials	Rank 1,597
25	119,282	JJ Jürimäe, Jaak	Tartu Ülikool	Sport Sciences	Rank 372
26	122,378	KU Kõljalg, Urmas	Tartu Ülikool	Mycology & Parasitology	Rank 270
27	133,084	KA Kahru, Anne	Academia Scientiarum Estoniae	Environmental Sciences	Rank 857
28	135,772	Sak, Katrin	NGO Praeventio	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 5,173
29	140,463	KK Kull, Kalevi	Tartu Ülikool	Languages & Linguistics	Rank 272
30	142,122	TM Trapido, Marina	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Environmental Engineering	Rank 690
31	146,869	SS Sakr, Sherif	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 2,817
32	147,492	VA Viru, Atko	Tartu Ülikool	Sport Sciences	Rank 472
33	149,783	KI Koppel, Ilmar A.	Tartu Ülikool	Organic Chemistry	Rank 2,638
34	154,715	LA Laisk, Agu	Tartu Ülikooli Tehnoloogiainstituut	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 2,220
35	155,144	SJ Stanturf, John	Eesti Maaülikool	Forestry	Rank 183
36	155,687	KM Koel, Mihkel	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 1,209
37	170,390	HI Hussainova, Irina	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Materials	Rank 2,311
38	170,507	KO Kull, Olevi	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 2,459
39	172,132	LÜ Lepik, Ülo	Tartu Ülikool	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 1,223
40	174,784	ST Soomere, Tarmo	Academia Scientiarum Estoniae	Oceanography	Rank 373
41	175,421	UD Unruh, Dominique	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 3,401
42	184,822	RA Rebane, Aleksander	National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics	Optoelectronics & Photonics	Rank 834
43	191,742	SA Sellin, Arne	Ökoloogia ja Maateaduste Instituut	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 2,778
44	196,586	FA Fazeli, Alireza	Eesti Maaülikool	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 1,896
45	198,756	TK Tammeveski, Kaido	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Energy	Rank 2,765
46	200,444	KK Kukli, Kaupo	Tartu Ülikooli Füüsika Instituut	Applied Physics	Rank 5,693
47	214,239	LI Leito, Ivo	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 1,790
48	214,636	BV Borovkov, Victor	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Organic Chemistry	Rank 3,735
49	215,083	KJ Kurnitski, Jarek	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Building & Construction	Rank 538
50	226,142	LE Lust, E.	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Energy	Rank 3,207
51	227,803	KT Kalamees, Targo	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Building & Construction	Rank 569
52	231,247	NT Nilson, Tiit	Tartu Ülikool	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 1,068
53	238,041	SP Saari, Peeter	Academia Scientiarum Estoniae	Optics	Rank 785
54	242,616	DS Datta, Soumya Kanti	DIGIOTOUCH OU	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 2,391
55	249,115	IR Ionescu, Radu	Eesti Maaülikool	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 2,134
56	260,481	BE Ben-Ari, Eyal	Estonian Military Academy	Strategic, Defence & Security Studies	Rank 325
57	260,540	HS Hall, Stephen J.G.	Eesti Maaülikool	Dairy & Animal Science	Rank 926
58	262,891	KE Kikas, Eve	Tallinna Ülikool	Education	Rank 1,866
59	284,878	TS Tomasiello, Stefania	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 5,746
60	314,336	AA Awad, Ahmed	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 6,414
61	316,244	AR Accorsi, Rafael	Tartu Ülikool	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 6,450
62	350,329	TK Tribe, Keith	Tartu Ülikool	History	Rank 129
63	410,308	EJ Engelbrecht, Jüri	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 3,146
64	421,925	VD Vinnikov, Dmitri	Tallinna Tehnikaülikool	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 1,544
65	434,100	JA Jänes, A.	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Energy	Rank 7,035
66	446,637	GA García-Sosa, Alfonso T.	Tartu Ülikooli Keemia Instituut	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 2,379
67	505,240	LM Lember, Margus	Tartu Ülikooli Kliinikum	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 7,108
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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Estonia are in the 2023 Stanford Top 2% list?

77 scientists affiliated with Estonia are on the 2023 single-year list, and 67 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2023 career-long list, Tartu Ülikool has the most listed scientists from Estonia, with 19. It is followed by Tallinna Tehnikaülikool with 10.

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

On the career-long list, Estonia went from 42 scientists in 2020 to 67 in 2023, a change of +59.5%.

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.