France's Top 2% Scientists 2020: Career-Long List

France has 5,048 scientists on the 2020 career-long Top 2% list. That places France 8th in the world by number of listed scientists. Sorbonne Universite has the most listed scientists (254), followed by Universite Paris-Saclay (214).

Single Year

4,502

First year listed

Career Data

5,048

First year listed

World rank by count

First year listed

Institutes

1,041

First year listed

Scientists in France on the list, by year

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+17.1%

2022+6.3%

2023+3.8%

2024+6.1%

2025+5.2%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	4,502		5,048
2021	5,274	+17.1%	5,912	+17.1%
2022	5,509	+4.5%	6,284	+6.3%
2023	5,588	+1.4%	6,522	+3.8%
2024	5,781	+3.5%	6,921	+6.1%
2025	5,886	+1.8%	7,284	+5.2%

Top 10 institutes in France

By number of listed scientists

Career-long list2020

Show the list

1Sorbonne Universite254
2Universite Paris-Saclay214
3Universite Grenoble Alpes171
4CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique146
5Université de Strasbourg112
6Université de Bordeaux111
7Université de Montpellier94
8Inserm78
9Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III78
10Aix Marseille Université71

All 5,048 scientists

Career-long list2020

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in France	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	44	KG Kroemer, Guido	Stabilité génétique et oncogenèse	Immunology	Rank 3
2	90	LJ Lehn, Jean Marie	Université de Strasbourg	General Chemistry	Rank 3
3	117	DG de Gennes, Pierre Gilles	Institut Curie	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 3
4	171	MA Møller, Anders Pape	Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution	Ecology	Rank 2
5	225	TJ Tarascon, Jean Marie	Collège de France	Energy	Rank 2
6	237	CP Chambon, Pierre	Collège de France	Developmental Biology	Rank 24
7	298	DS Dehaene, Stanislas	Collège de France	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 36
8	386	FG Férey, Gérard	Institut Lavoisier de Versailles	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 4
9	448	DP Delmas, P.	Inserm	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 21
10	450	RD Raoult, Didier	Aix Marseille Université	Microbiology	Rank 5
11	611	MS Mallat, Stéphane	École Normale Supérieure	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 14
12	712	HB Henrissat, Bernard	Aix Marseille Université	Microbiology	Rank 11
13	816	BY Ben-Ari, Yehezkel	Fundamental Research Department	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 83
14	860	ET Ebbesen, T. W.	Université de Strasbourg	Optics	Rank 4
15	867	BJ Bousquet, Jean	CHU Montpellier	Allergy	Rank 3
16	1,007	AD Astruc, Didier	Université de Bordeaux	Organic Chemistry	Rank 32
17	1,012	MM Millan, Mark J.	Servier	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 11
18	1,036	DT Damour, Thibault	Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 9
19	1,204	LP Lions, Pierre Louis	Université Paris-Dauphine	General Mathematics	Rank 1
20	1,395	SB Staels, Bart	University of Lille	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 90
21	1,409	CJ Changeux, Jean Pierre	Collège de France	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 151
22	1,446	PM Pileni, Marie Paule	Institut Rayonnement-Matière de Saclay	Chemical Physics	Rank 52
23	1,512	DM Dougados, Maxime	Centre de Recherche Epidémiologiques et Bio Statistiques de Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS)	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 8
24	1,672	JM Jeannerod, Marc	Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 171
25	1,696	SJ Savéant, Jean Michel	Université de Paris	General Chemistry	Rank 24
26	1,737	DD Dubois, Didier	Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 37
27	1,772	RF Rousset, François	Université de Montpellier	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 23
28	1,907	PJ Pawlotsky, Jean Michel	Hôpital Henri Mondor	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 28
29	1,916	LB Le Bihan, Denis	CEA Saclay	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 196
30	1,919	LM Loreau, Michel	Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale	Ecology	Rank 32
31	1,957	DA Dufresne, Alain	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Polymers	Rank 9
32	2,013	SJ Sauvage, Jean Pierre	Université de Strasbourg	General Chemistry	Rank 30
33	2,052	ZR Zana, Raoul	Institut Charles Sadron	Chemical Physics	Rank 69
34	2,084	CB Coiffier, Bertrand	CHU de Lyon	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 104
35	2,086	BP Boyle, Peter	International Prevention Research Institute	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 105
36	2,103	SM Safar, Michel E.	Hôpital Hotel-Dieu AP-HP	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 118
37	2,124	TJ Tirole, Jean	École des Ponts ParisTech	Economics	Rank 19
38	2,165	DG Decher, Gero	Université de Strasbourg	Chemical Physics	Rank 74
39	2,242	RJ Roncali, Jean	Institut des Sciences et Technologies Moléculaires d'Angers	Organic Chemistry	Rank 64
40	2,247	TW Thuiller, Wilfried	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Ecology	Rank 41
41	2,268	FM Fink, Mathias	Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Acoustics	Rank 1
42	2,290	SM Schlumberger, Martin	Universite Paris-Saclay	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 88
43	2,327	RM Rinaudo, Marguerite	Biomaterials Applications	Polymers	Rank 11
44	2,405	SP Sansonetti, Philippe J.	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 40
45	2,499	HM Humbert, Marc	Hopital de Bicetre	Respiratory System	Rank 17
46	2,527	BJ Bach, Jean François	Institut Necker-Enfants Malades (INEM)	Immunology	Rank 95
47	2,557	KO Kahn, Olivier	Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 14
48	2,693	AC Allègre, Claude J.	Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 22
49	2,722	FA Fischer, Alain	Collège de France	Immunology	Rank 104
50	2,730	GE Gluckman, E.	Hôpital Saint-Louis	Immunology	Rank 105
51	2,770	SC Schmid, Cordelia	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 61
52	2,808	BE Baulieu, E. E.	Universite Paris-Saclay	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 281
53	2,823	SM Simoons, Maarten L.	European Society of Cardiology	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 148
54	2,856	MP Marcellin, Patrick	Université de Paris	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 44
55	2,857	CP Couvreur, P.	Institut Galien Paris-Sud	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 22
56	2,858	CG Chabrier, G.	Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 11
57	2,893	LG London, Gérard Michel	Centre Hospitalier F.H. Manhes	Urology & Nephrology	Rank 23
58	2,978	PT Poynard, Thierry	Hôpital Universitaire Pitié Salpêtrière	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 46
59	3,007	CP Cossart, Pascale	Inserm	Microbiology	Rank 58
60	3,039	MF Megraud, Francis	Université de Bordeaux	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 50
61	3,073	HP Hohenberg, P. C.	École Normale Supérieure	Biophysics	Rank 13
62	3,109	QD Quéré, David	Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 32
63	3,113	ZL Zitvogel, Laurence	Universite Paris-Saclay	Immunology	Rank 120
64	3,223	CP Courvalin, Patrice	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 66
65	3,364	LL Leibler, Ludwik	Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Polymers	Rank 21
66	3,477	BH Bismuth, Henri	Hopital Paul-Brousse	Surgery	Rank 15
67	3,487	LD Le Douarin, Nicole M.	Sorbonne Universite	Developmental Biology	Rank 229
68	3,599	LJ Livage, Jacques	Collège de France	Materials	Rank 42
69	3,632	SA Scalbert, Augustin	International Agency for Research on Cancer	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 30
70	3,669	AI Antoniadis, I.	Sorbonne Universite	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 47
71	3,677	CJ Casanova, Jean Laurent	Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades	Immunology	Rank 146
72	3,751	AP Amarenco, Pierre	Hôpital Bichat-Claude-Bernard AP-HP	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 372
73	3,775	RJ Roujeau, Jean Claude	Université Paris-Est Créteil	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 10
74	3,779	AY Agid, Yves	Hôpital Universitaire Pitié Salpêtrière	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 373
75	3,791	RJ Rodríguez-Carvajal, Juan	Institut Laue-Langevin	Applied Physics	Rank 98
76	3,792	FA Fert, A.	Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS/Thales	Applied Physics	Rank 99
77	3,816	LB Latour, Bruno	SciencesPo	Political Science & Public Administration	Rank 2
78	3,833	LJ Lutz, Jean François	Université de Strasbourg	Polymers	Rank 25
79	3,936	DB Derrida, Bernard	Collège de France	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 42
80	3,988	DH Duffau, H.	Université de Montpellier	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 399
81	4,008	HJ Herrmann, Jean Marie	Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1	Physical Chemistry	Rank 19
82	4,015	ZF Zannad, Faiez	Université de Lorraine	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 208
83	4,046	FP Fenaux, Pierre	Hôpital Saint-Louis	Immunology	Rank 159
84	4,048	GL Guillevin, Loic	Hopital Cochin AP-HP	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 26
85	4,080	GP Garnero, Patrick	Inserm	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 27
86	4,134	BM Bousser, Marie Germaine	Hôpital Fernand-Widal AP-HP	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 410
87	4,162	HG Horowitz, Gilles	Laboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces	Applied Physics	Rank 112
88	4,264	BA Benabid, Alim Louis	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 418
89	4,270	DB Dubois, B.	Hôpital Universitaire Pitié Salpêtrière	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 421
90	4,292	VG Veneziano, Gabriele	Collège de France	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 61
91	4,335	AF Albarède, Francis	Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 38
92	4,501	EA Eggermont, Alexander	Stabilité génétique et oncogenèse	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 236
93	4,545	RD Ruelle, David	Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 47
94	4,725	CJ Cardoso, J. F.	Sorbonne Universite	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 29
95	4,735	WH Weimerskirch, Henri	Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé	Ecology	Rank 83
96	4,762	MP Meunier, Pierre J.	Université de Lyon	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 163
97	4,949	LJ Latgé, Jean Paul	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 113
98	4,955	HM Haissaguerre, Michel	CHU Hôpitaux de Bordeaux	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 260
99	4,968	CJ Chaboche, J. L.	ONERA-DMSM - Matériaux et Structures Métalliques	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 22
100	5,068	BJ Baron, Jean Claude	Hôpital d'Orsay	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 484
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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2020

Japan6,316 scientistsin 2020

Australia5,441 scientistsin 2020

China5,273 scientistsin 2020

Italy4,008 scientistsin 2020

Netherlands3,350 scientistsin 2020

Sweden2,546 scientistsin 2020

Explore other countries

Career-long list2020

Germany8,792 scientistsin 2020

Switzerland2,546 scientistsin 2020

Belgium1,413 scientistsin 2020

Austria962 scientistsin 2020

Luxembourg34 scientistsin 2020

United Kingdom14,999 scientistsin 2020

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from France are in the 2020 Stanford Top 2% list?

4,502 scientists affiliated with France are on the 2020 single-year list, and 5,048 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2020 career-long list, Sorbonne Universite has the most listed scientists from France, with 254. It is followed by Universite Paris-Saclay with 214.

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.