France's Top 2% Scientists 2021

France has 5,274 scientists on the 2021 single-year Top 2% list, up 17.1% from 4,502 in 2020. That places France 9th in the world by number of listed scientists, down 1 place. Sorbonne Universite has the most listed scientists (366), followed by Universite Paris-Saclay (326).

Single Year

5,274

+772 (+17.1%) vs 2020

Career Data

5,912

+864 (+17.1%) vs 2020

World rank by count

down 1 place vs 2020

Institutes

900

+18 (+2.0%) vs 2020

Scientists in France on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 17% since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+17.1%

2022+4.5%

2023+1.4%

2024+3.5%

2025+1.8%

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

Single-year list2021

Show the list

1Sorbonne Universite366
2Universite Paris-Saclay326
3Université de Paris211
4Universite Grenoble Alpes190
5Université de Montpellier172
6Université de Bordeaux149
7CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique126
8Aix Marseille Université99
9Université Claude Bernard Lyon 197
10Université de Lorraine90

All 5,274 scientists

Single-year list2021

The first 100 are free to browse.

Export CSV

Rank in France	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	56	KG Kroemer, Guido	Université de Paris	Immunology	Rank 1
2	99	TJ Tarascon, Jean Marie	Collège de France	Energy	Rank 2
3	116	BF Bray, Freddie	International Agency for Research on Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 5
4	245	DS Dehaene, Stanislas	Collège de France	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 16
5	328	DA Dufresne, Alain	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Polymers	Rank 3
6	389	RC Robert, Caroline	Universite Paris-Saclay	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 15
7	504	RD Raoult, Didier	Aix Marseille Université	Microbiology	Rank 6
8	579	LJ Lehn, Jean Marie	Université de Strasbourg	General Chemistry	Rank 7
9	591	TW Thuiller, Wilfried	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Ecology	Rank 15
10	593	TC Théry, Clotilde	Université PSL	Immunology	Rank 26
11	640	AD Astruc, Didier	Université de Bordeaux	Organic Chemistry	Rank 5
12	750	DG de Gennes, Pierre Gilles	Institut Curie	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 7
13	804	LP Lions, Pierre Louis	Collège de France	General Mathematics	Rank 2
14	830	MS Mallat, Stéphane	Collège de France	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 40
15	831	SP Simon, Patrice	Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III	Energy	Rank 21
16	850	LM Loreau, Michel	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Ecology	Rank 24
17	879	FG Férey, Gérard	Institut Universitaire de France	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 4
18	984	DH Duffau, Hugues	Université de Montpellier	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 69
19	1,040	SR Spitzer, Robert	Université de Bordeaux	Psychiatry	Rank 22
20	1,104	QD Quéré, David	École polytechnique	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 10
21	1,191	Crini, Grégorio	Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté	Polymers	Rank 6
22	1,197	DT Damour, T.	Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 8
23	1,348	AJ Antoni, Jérôme	Laboratoire Vibrations Acoustiques	Acoustics	Rank 1
24	1,440	MA Møller, A. P.	Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 15
25	1,508	FJ Ferlay, Jacques	International Agency for Research on Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 47
26	1,591	BF Bach, Francis	Université PSL	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 73
27	1,606	ZL Zitvogel, Laurence	Universite Paris-Saclay	Immunology	Rank 43
28	1,613	GD Gubler, Duane J.	Partnership for Dengue Control	Tropical Medicine	Rank 3
29	1,677	PL Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent	CHU de Nancy	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 17
30	1,698	RM Rinaudo, Marguerite	Biomaterials Applications	Polymers	Rank 7
31	1,707	RN Roussel, N.	École des Ponts ParisTech	Building & Construction	Rank 10
32	1,812	FA Fert, Albert	Universite Paris-Saclay	Applied Physics	Rank 51
33	1,813	SA Scalbert, Augustin	International Agency for Research on Cancer	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 11
34	1,865	DM Dougados, Maxime	Université de Paris	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 12
35	2,005	SJ Savéant, Jean Michel	Université de Paris	Energy	Rank 43
36	2,020	ET Ebbesen, Thomas	Université de Strasbourg	Applied Physics	Rank 62
37	2,039	CG Chabrier, Gilles	École Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 7
38	2,072	LB Latour, Bruno	Sciences Po	Science Studies	Rank 5
39	2,188	PC Parmesan, Camille	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Ecology	Rank 76
40	2,203	BP Bourdieu, Pierre	École Pratique des Hautes Études	Sociology	Rank 7
41	2,290	HM Humbert, Marc	Universite Paris-Saclay	Respiratory System	Rank 9
42	2,552	FM Fink, Mathias	Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Acoustics	Rank 3
43	2,621	CJ Chave, Jerome	Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III	Ecology	Rank 88
44	2,668	DB Dubois, Bruno	Sorbonne Universite	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 162
45	2,727	BM Buchheit, Martin	INSEP Institut National des Sports et d?Education Physique	Sport Sciences	Rank 9
46	2,809	DL Dana, Léo Paul	Montpellier Business School	Business & Management	Rank 65
47	2,915	CP Ciais, Philippe	Universite Paris-Saclay	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 47
48	2,929	MP Moreau, Philippe	Hôtel Dieu CHU de Nantes	Immunology	Rank 78
49	2,952	CJ Chaboche, J. L.	Département Matériaux et Structures	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 37
50	2,990	EB Escudier, B.	Stabilité génétique et oncogenèse	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 97
51	2,994	LS Lavorel, Sandra	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Ecology	Rank 100
52	3,066	RJ Rodriguez-Carvajal, Juan	Institut Laue-Langevin	Applied Physics	Rank 79
53	3,080	LB Le Bihan, D.	Universite Paris-Saclay	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 200
54	3,114	SB Staels, Bart	Université de Lille	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 74
55	3,142	CP Couvreur, Patrick	Institut Galien Paris-Sud	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 12
56	3,144	VW Van Wassenhove, Luk N.	INSEAD, Europe	Operations Research	Rank 13
57	3,184	ZF Zannad, Faiez	Université de Lorraine	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 98
58	3,258	OM Oturan, Mehmet A.	Université Gustave Eiffel	Environmental Sciences	Rank 32
59	3,262	DC Delmas, Claude	Université de Bordeaux	Energy	Rank 63
60	3,270	GA Gandini, Alessandro	Universite Grenoble Alpes	Polymers	Rank 14
61	3,281	LJ Lutz, Jean François	Université de Strasbourg	Polymers	Rank 15
62	3,402	RF Rousset, François	Université de Montpellier	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 35
63	3,560	SC Serre, Christian	École Normale Supérieure	Organic Chemistry	Rank 50
64	3,621	BJ Bousquet, Jean	MACVIA-France	Allergy	Rank 5
65	3,634	CM Callon, Michel	Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation	Science Studies	Rank 8
66	3,676	LS Laurent, Stephane	Inserm	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 111
67	3,731	BP Boileau, Pascal	Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Hôpital Pasteur	Orthopedics	Rank 10
68	3,749	DB Dréno, B.	CHU de Nantes	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 6
69	3,803	LJ Latgé, Jean Paul	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 70
70	3,868	NG Noctor, Graham	Institut Universitaire de France	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 35
71	3,869	BF Berenbaum, Francis	Sorbonne Universite	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 28
72	3,872	DD Dubois, D.	Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 121
73	3,883	MM Millan, Mark J.	Servier	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 15
74	3,953	PE Paradis, Emmanuel	Université de Montpellier	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 42
75	3,969	CJ Changeux, Jean Pierre	Collège de France	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 255
76	3,982	MH Markus, Hugh S.	Université de Bordeaux	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 257
77	3,999	CV Cottin, Vincent	Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1	Respiratory System	Rank 23
78	4,000	MH Martin, Hervé	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 65
79	4,073	BL Bocquet, Lydéric	École Normale Supérieure	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 29
80	4,143	CA Clark, Andrew E.	Ecole d’Économie de Paris	Economics	Rank 75
81	4,158	FW Fridman, Wolf H.	Sorbonne Universite	Immunology	Rank 108
82	4,218	LL Leibler, Ludwik	Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Polymers	Rank 28
83	4,235	LD Lichtenstein, Daniel A.	Hopital Ambroise Pare, Boulogne-Billancourt	Emergency & Critical Care Medicine	Rank 13
84	4,246	JM Jeannerod, Marc	Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 276
85	4,270	SM Schlumberger, Martin	Universite Paris-Saclay	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 85
86	4,400	GE Guibal, Eric	IMT Mines Alès	Chemical Engineering	Rank 27
87	4,405	WC Wild, Christopher P.	International Agency for Research on Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 150
88	4,432	CL Castera, Laurent	Hôpital Beaujon	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 57
89	4,546	PJ Pawlotsky, Jean Michel	Hôpital Henri Mondor	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 59
90	4,583	RJ Rolain, Jean Marc	Aix Marseille Université	Microbiology	Rank 94
91	4,652	VG Varoquaux, Gaël	Universite Paris-Saclay	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 303
92	4,658	WS Wamba, Samuel Fosso	TBS Business School	Information Systems	Rank 16
93	4,666	AV Aboyans, Victor	Hopital Dupuytren	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 153
94	4,768	SJ Soria, J. C.	Universite Paris-Saclay	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 162
95	4,799	CA Chambolle, Antonin	Université Paris-Dauphine	General Mathematics	Rank 13
96	4,825	BY Ben-Ari, Yehezkel	Ben-Ari Institute of Neuroarcheology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 312
97	4,827	MM Mohty, Mohamad	Sorbonne Universite	Immunology	Rank 125
98	4,867	MM Meybeck, Michel	Sorbonne Universite	Environmental Engineering	Rank 22
99	5,003	AF Albarède, Francis	École Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 82
100	5,059	LJ Lefaucheur, Jean Pascal	Hôpital Henri Mondor	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 326
No scientists match this filter.

Showing 1 to 100 of the first 100 Show

Paid plans

See all 5,274 scientists in France

You are seeing the first 100. 5,174 more are on the 2021 single-year list.

Ranks 101 to 5,274The whole list, not only the top 100.

Every year since 2020Single Year and Career Data.

Search the full listBy name, institute or sub-field.

CSV exportDownload the list for your own work.

View Plans & Upgrade Compare plans

Cancel anytime · Secure billing

Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2021

Australia7,138 scientistsin 2021

Italy6,126 scientistsin 2021

Japan5,416 scientistsin 2021

Netherlands3,945 scientistsin 2021

Spain3,402 scientistsin 2021

India3,352 scientistsin 2021

Explore other countries

Single-year list2021

Germany9,436 scientistsin 2021

Switzerland3,016 scientistsin 2021

Belgium1,780 scientistsin 2021

Austria1,219 scientistsin 2021

Luxembourg58 scientistsin 2021

United Kingdom15,844 scientistsin 2021

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

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

5,274 scientists affiliated with France are on the 2021 single-year list, and 5,912 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2021 single-year list, Sorbonne Universite has the most listed scientists from France, with 366. It is followed by Universite Paris-Saclay with 326.

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

On the single-year list, France went from 4,502 scientists in 2020 to 5,274 in 2021, a change of +17.1%.

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.