France's Top 2% Scientists 2024

France has 5,781 scientists on the 2024 single-year Top 2% list, up 3.5% from 5,588 in 2023. That places France 8th in the world by number of listed scientists, up 1 place. CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique has the most listed scientists (1,074), followed by Inserm (372).

Single Year

5,781

+193 (+3.5%) vs 2023

Career Data

6,921

+399 (+6.1%) vs 2023

World rank by count

up 1 place vs 2023

Institutes

827

-314 (-27.5%) vs 2023

Scientists in France on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 28% 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 list2024

Show the list

All 5,781 scientists

Single-year list2024

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	55	KG Kroemer, Guido	Sorbonne Université	Immunology	Rank 1
2	131	BF Bray, Freddie	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 5
3	152	TJ Tarascon, Jean Marie	Collège de France	Energy	Rank 6
4	255	RC Robert, Caroline	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 8
5	390	DS Dehaene, Stanislas	Inserm	Experimental Psychology	Rank 6
6	594	TC Théry, Clotilde	Institut Curie	Immunology	Rank 18
7	604	DA Dufresne, Alain	Université Grenoble Alpes	Polymers	Rank 3
8	618	TW Thuiller, Wilfried	Université Grenoble Alpes	Ecology	Rank 15
9	636	MS Mallat, Stéphane	Collège de France	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 42
10	673	SP Simon, Patrice	Université de Toulouse	Energy	Rank 18
11	691	LP Lions, Pierre Louis	Collège de France	General Mathematics	Rank 2
12	735	LM Loreau, Michel	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Ecology	Rank 18
13	742	JC Jabbour, Charbel Jose Chiappetta	NEOMA Business School	Business & Management	Rank 23
14	790	RD Raoult, Didier	Aix Marseille Université	Microbiology	Rank 10
15	798	FR Feynman, Richard P.	Université de Bretagne Occidentale	Applied Physics	Rank 21
16	800	FW Fosso Wamba, Samuel	TBS Business School	Information Systems	Rank 7
17	830	DT Damour, Thibault	Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 7
18	834	Crini, Grégorio	Université de Franche-Comté	Polymers	Rank 5
19	879	RN Roussel, Nicolas	Université Gustave Eiffel	Building & Construction	Rank 7
20	959	DG de Gennes, Pierre Gilles	Collège de France	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 7
21	1,110	LB Latour, Bruno	SciencesPo Paris	Science Studies	Rank 3
22	1,217	LJ Lehn, Jean Marie	Université de Strasbourg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 11
23	1,261	BP Bourdieu, Pierre	École Pratique des Hautes Études	Sociology	Rank 3
24	1,264	KA Klamt, Andreas	Dassault Systemes	Chemical Physics	Rank 27
25	1,301	AJ Antoni, Jerome	INSA Lyon	Acoustics	Rank 2
26	1,322	ZL Zitvogel, Laurence	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Immunology	Rank 38
27	1,331	TJ Tirole, Jean	Toulouse School of Economics - Recherche - (TSE-R)	Economics	Rank 35
28	1,369	FJ Ferlay, Jacques	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 29
29	1,430	DL Dana, Leo Paul	l’ICD Business School	Business & Management	Rank 52
30	1,468	QD Quéré, David	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 10
31	1,560	FG Férey, Gérard	Institut Universitaire de France	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 5
32	1,623	HM Humbert, Marc	Université Paris-Saclay	Respiratory System	Rank 4
33	1,752	DR Di Renzo, Marco	Université Paris-Saclay	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 16
34	1,754	PL Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent	CHU de Nancy	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 24
35	1,775	CP Ciais, Philippe	Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 22
36	1,805	PD Parkin, Donald Maxwell	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 40
37	1,862	CG Chabrier, Gilles	École Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 6
38	1,873	Aghion, Philippe	Collège de France	Economics	Rank 49
39	1,893	BF Bach, Francis	INRIA Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 104
40	2,028	OR Olfati-Saber, Reza	Sanofi S.A.	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 19
41	2,112	ET Ebbesen, Thomas W.	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Applied Physics	Rank 62
42	2,248	DH Duffau, Hugues	Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montpellier	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 125
43	2,307	CM Callon, Michel	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Science Studies	Rank 7
44	2,316	FR Filieri, Raffaele	Audencia	Marketing	Rank 19
45	2,358	RM Rinaudo, Marguerite	Biomaterials Applications	Polymers	Rank 12
46	2,436	FA Fert, Albert	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Applied Physics	Rank 69
47	2,548	PC Parmesan, Camille	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Ecology	Rank 71
48	2,665	ZF Zannad, Faiez	Université de Lorraine	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 67
49	2,751	PA Pizzi, Antonio	Université de Lorraine	Polymers	Rank 14
50	2,755	MA Møller, Anders Pape	Université Paris-Saclay	Ecology	Rank 74
51	2,812	CV Cottin, Vincent	Hopital Louis Pradel	Respiratory System	Rank 10
52	2,873	DM Dougados, Maxime	Hopital Cochin AP-HP	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 17
53	2,901	OM Oturan, Mehmet A.	Université Gustave Eiffel	Environmental Sciences	Rank 55
54	2,920	PA Polyakov, Andrey	INRIA Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 34
55	2,925	DB Dubois, Bruno	Hôpital Universitaire Pitié Salpêtrière	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 157
56	2,946	CJ Chave, Jérôme	Université de Toulouse	Ecology	Rank 79
57	2,963	PT Piketty, Thomas	École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales	Economics	Rank 68
58	3,000	LS Lavorel, Sandra	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Ecology	Rank 83
59	3,013	DC Delmas, Claude	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Energy	Rank 75
60	3,014	CJ Chaboche, J. L.	ONERA Office National d'Etudes et Recherches Aerospatiales	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 27
61	3,024	GF Ginhoux, Florent	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Immunology	Rank 71
62	3,072	AD Annane, Djillali	Hopital Raymond Poincare	Emergency & Critical Care Medicine	Rank 9
63	3,163	VG Varoquaux, Gaël	INRIA Saclay	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 168
64	3,233	AV Aboyans, Victor	Inserm	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 93
65	3,275	BS Bag, Surajit	Pôle Léonard De Vinci	Business & Management	Rank 105
66	3,377	BC Bailly, Christian	Université de Lille	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 11
67	3,402	DB Dreno, Brigitte	Nantes Université	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 5
68	3,477	SB Staels, Bart	Institut Pasteur de Lille	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 101
69	3,530	SA Scalbert, Augustin	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 19
70	3,544	BP Boileau, Pascal	Institute for Sports & Reconstructive Surgery	Orthopedics	Rank 9
71	3,587	FM Fink, Mathias	École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Acoustics	Rank 5
72	3,591	LT Lawrence, Toby	Inserm	Immunology	Rank 85
73	3,619	HC Hidalgo, César A.	Université de Toulouse	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 178
74	3,720	CJ Casanova, Jean Laurent	Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades	Immunology	Rank 89
75	3,740	LS Laurent, Stéphane	Université Paris Cité	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 106
76	3,763	LB Le Bihan, Denis	Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 207
77	3,770	CA Clark, Andrew E.	Ecole d’Économie de Paris	Economics	Rank 84
78	3,845	WM Wagner, Marcus	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Business & Management	Rank 123
79	3,865	FW Fridman, Wolf Herman	Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers	Immunology	Rank 93
80	3,944	MM Mohty, Mohamad	Hôpital Saint-Antoine	Immunology	Rank 97
81	3,971	SH Sokol, H.	AP-HP Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 53
82	3,990	BP Bedossa, Pierre	Université Paris Cité	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 54
83	4,023	VW Van Wassenhove, Luk	INSEAD, Europe	Operations Research	Rank 14
84	4,096	BL Bocquet, Lydéric	École Normale Supérieure	Chemical Physics	Rank 86
85	4,141	VB Vellas, Bruno	Université de Toulouse	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 225
86	4,226	AF André, Fabrice	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 120
87	4,234	HP Hohenberg, P. C.	École Normale Supérieure	Applied Physics	Rank 104
88	4,254	FD Fassin, Didier	Collège de France	Anthropology	Rank 2
89	4,426	SC Serre, Christian	École Normale Supérieure	Organic Chemistry	Rank 66
90	4,538	AL Avérous, Luc	ECPM École Européenne de Chimie, Polymères et Matériaux de Strasbourg	Polymers	Rank 22
91	4,599	RJ Rodríguez-Carvajal, Juan	Institut Laue-Langevin	Applied Physics	Rank 108
92	4,613	PE Paradis, Emmanuel	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 33
93	4,647	RV Ratziu, Vlad	Sorbonne Université	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 64
94	4,713	EB Escudier, Bernard	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 131
95	4,732	RC Rovelli, Carlo	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 48
96	4,752	NG Noctor, Graham	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 51
97	4,875	MP Moreau, Philippe	CHU de Nantes	Immunology	Rank 117
98	4,889	CP Couvreur, Patrick	Academie Nationale de Médecine	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 20
99	4,905	WC Will, Clifford M.	Sorbonne Université	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 50
100	4,969	GA Gandini, Alessandro	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Polymers	Rank 27
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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2024

Canada8,185 scientistsin 2024

Australia8,032 scientistsin 2024

Italy7,620 scientistsin 2024

Japan5,609 scientistsin 2024

India5,351 scientistsin 2024

Netherlands4,534 scientistsin 2024

Explore other countries

Single-year list2024

Germany10,422 scientistsin 2024

Switzerland3,404 scientistsin 2024

Belgium2,007 scientistsin 2024

Austria1,381 scientistsin 2024

Luxembourg74 scientistsin 2024

United Kingdom17,554 scientistsin 2024

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from France are in the 2024 Stanford Top 2% list?

5,781 scientists affiliated with France are on the 2024 single-year list, and 6,921 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2024 single-year list, CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique has the most listed scientists from France, with 1,074. It is followed by Inserm with 372.

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 5,781 in 2024, a change of +28.4%.

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.