France's Top 2% Scientists 2025: Career-Long List

France has 7,284 scientists on the 2025 career-long Top 2% list, up 5.2% from 6,921 in 2024. That places France 8th in the world by number of listed scientists. CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique has the most listed scientists (278), followed by Université Paris-Saclay (260).

Single Year

5,886

+105 (+1.8%) vs 2024

Career Data

7,284

+363 (+5.2%) vs 2024

World rank by count

No change vs 2024

Institutes

1,597

+571 (+55.7%) vs 2024

Scientists in France on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 44% since 2020.

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 list2025

Show the list

1CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique278
2Université Paris-Saclay260
3Sorbonne Université258
4Université Paris Cité188
5Université Grenoble Alpes186
6Université de Montpellier112
7Université de Lorraine102
8Université de Bordeaux87
9Université de Strasbourg83
10Université Claude Bernard Lyon 176

All 7,284 scientists

Career-long list2025

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	34	KG Kroemer, Guido	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Immunology	Rank 3
2	139	LJ Lehn, Jean Maríe Pierre	Université de Strasbourg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 1
3	162	TJ Tarascon, Jean Marie	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Energy	Rank 3
4	177	DG de Gennes, Pierre Gilles	Institut Curie	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 3
5	204	MA Møller, Anders Pape	Université Paris-Saclay	Ecology	Rank 3
6	263	SH Sampson, Hugh A.	DBV Technologies	Allergy	Rank 1
7	278	DS Dehaene, Stanislas	Collège de France	Experimental Psychology	Rank 5
8	305	RD Raoult, Didier A.	Aix Marseille Université	Microbiology	Rank 4
9	397	CP Chambon, Pierre Kastner Pierre	IGBMC Institut de Genetique et de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire	Developmental Biology	Rank 26
10	406	HG Hortobágyi, Gabriel N.	Division of Breast Cancer Research	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 19
11	513	FG Férey, Gèrard	Institut Universitaire de France	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 4
12	618	MS Mallat, Stéphane G.	Collège de France	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 23
13	689	DP Delmas, Pierre Dominique	Hopital Edouard Herriot	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 27
14	738	HB Henrissat, Bernard	Aix Marseille Université	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 42
15	843	DA Dufresne, Alain	Université Grenoble Alpes	Polymers	Rank 6
16	880	AD Astruc, Didier D.	Université de Bordeaux	Organic Chemistry	Rank 26
17	886	DT Damour, Thibault	Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 9
18	906	BF Bray, Freddie Ian	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 32
19	1,060	LP Lions, Pierre Louis	Collège de France	General Mathematics	Rank 1
20	1,069	ET Ebbesen, Thomas Wren	Université de Strasbourg	Applied Physics	Rank 40
21	1,214	BY Ben-Ari, Yéhézékiel	Neurochlore SAS	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 115
22	1,292	MG Molander, Gary A.	Université Paris-Saclay	Organic Chemistry	Rank 39
23	1,316	LM Loreau, Michel	Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale	Ecology	Rank 28
24	1,431	TW Thuiller, Wilfried	Université Grenoble Alpes	Ecology	Rank 31
25	1,459	DM Dougados, Maxime R.	Centre de Recherche Epidémiologiques et Bio Statistiques de Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS)	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 11
26	1,467	FR Feynman, Richard P.	Université de Bretagne Occidentale	Applied Physics	Rank 55
27	1,485	RC Robert, Caroline	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 58
28	1,523	SB Staels, Bart	Université de Lille	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 43
29	1,687	HM Humbert, Marc	Hypertension Artérielle Pulmonaire : Physiopathologie et Innovation Thérapeutique	Respiratory System	Rank 12
30	1,720	CJ Changeux, Jean Pierre	Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 164
31	1,878	ZL Zitvogel, Laurence	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Immunology	Rank 68
32	1,888	TJ Tirole, Jean	Toulouse School of Economics - Recherche - (TSE-R)	Economics	Rank 16
33	1,895	LB Latour, Bruno	Médialab Sciences Po	Science Studies	Rank 3
34	1,913	SJ Savéant, Jean Michel	Université Paris Cité	Energy	Rank 23
35	1,962	RM Rinaudo, Marguerite	Biomaterials Applications	Polymers	Rank 10
36	1,998	DD Dubois, Didier J.	Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 55
37	2,167	FM Fink, Mathias A.	École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Acoustics	Rank 1
38	2,179	RF Rousset, François	Université de Montpellier	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 32
39	2,192	PJ Pawlotsky, Jean Michel	Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 39
40	2,222	LB Le Bihan, Denis J.	Université Paris-Saclay	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 205
41	2,253	SM Schlumberger, Martin Jean	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 77
42	2,282	JM Jeannerod, Marc	Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 210
43	2,312	DH Duffau, Hugues	Université de Montpellier	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 215
44	2,359	PM Piléni, Marie Paule	Sorbonne Université	Chemical Physics	Rank 68
45	2,440	SC Schmid, Cordelia	INRIA Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 68
46	2,602	CP Ciais, Philippe	Université Paris-Saclay	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 24
47	2,603	CB Coiffier, Bertrand B.	Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 107
48	2,672	QD Quéré, David	Laboratoire d'Hydrodynamique de l'Ecole Polytechnique	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 20
49	2,706	SJ Sauvage, Jean Pierre	Université de Strasbourg	General Chemistry	Rank 29
50	2,729	OR Olfati-Saber, Reza	Sanofi S.A.	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 14
51	2,764	ZF Zannad, Faïez Mohamed	CHU de Caen Normandie	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 129
52	2,808	SM Safar, Mìchel E.	Hôpital Hotel-Dieu AP-HP	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 132
53	2,810	CP Couvreur, P.	Institut Galien Paris-Saclay	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 12
54	2,825	JJ Jass, Jeremy R.	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 118
55	2,889	SP Sansonetti, Philippe Joseph	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 54
56	2,906	SP Simon, Patrice	Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier	Energy	Rank 37
57	2,930	PA Peter A. Boyle, Peter A.	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 122
58	3,009	WL Wacquant, Löic J.D.	Centre Européen de Sociologie et de Science Politique (CESSP - UMR 8209)	Sociology	Rank 7
59	3,026	ZR Zana, Raoul	CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique	Chemical Physics	Rank 84
60	3,165	FA Fert, Albert	Université Paris-Saclay	Applied Physics	Rank 100
61	3,172	AD Annane, Djillali	AP-HP Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris	Emergency & Critical Care Medicine	Rank 14
62	3,187	BF Bach, Francis R.	Université PSL	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 88
63	3,218	DG Decher, Gero	Université de Strasbourg	Chemical Physics	Rank 94
64	3,237	FA Fischer, Alain M.	Collège de France	Immunology	Rank 121
65	3,254	CS Cole, Stewart Thomas	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 68
66	3,261	VG Veneziano, Gabriele	Collège de France	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 39
67	3,313	MF Mègraud, Françis	Groupe Hospitalier Pellegrin	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 55
68	3,391	BP Bourdieu, Pierre	École Pratique des Hautes Études	Sociology	Rank 8
69	3,399	SA Scalbert, Augustin	Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 25
70	3,401	DB Dubois, Bruno	Hôpital Universitaire Pitié Salpêtrière	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 294
71	3,527	HP Hohenberg, Pierre C.	École Normale Supérieure	Applied Physics	Rank 107
72	3,533	AC Allégre, Claude Jean	Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 31
73	3,538	LG London, Gèrard Michel	Centre Hospitalier FH	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 172
74	3,570	CP Cossart, Pascale	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 77
75	3,604	RJ Rodríguez-Carvajal, Juan R.	Institut Laue-Langevin	Applied Physics	Rank 109
76	3,631	LL Leibler, Ludwik	École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris	Polymers	Rank 20
77	3,762	AP Amarenco, Pierre	Université Paris Cité	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 326
78	3,768	CP Courvalin, Patrice M.	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 83
79	3,785	AY Agid, Yves A.	Hôpital Universitaire Pitié Salpêtrière	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 327
80	3,991	MP Marcellin, Patrick M.	AP-HP Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 66
81	3,992	GL Guillevin, Loïc I.	Université Paris Cité	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 25
82	4,033	BJ Bach, Jean François	Académie des Sciences	Immunology	Rank 156
83	4,201	LJ Latgé, Jean Paul	Institut Pasteur, Paris	Microbiology	Rank 94
84	4,210	LJ Lutz, Jean François	Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires	Polymers	Rank 25
85	4,261	SM Storper, Michael	Sciences Po Paris	Geography	Rank 11
86	4,300	BÉ Baulíeu, Étienne Émile	Maladies et Hormones du Système Nerveux	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 191
87	4,305	BP Bédossa, Pierre	Liverpat	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 73
88	4,454	EJ Endicott, Jean M.	Université de Bordeaux	Psychiatry	Rank 134
89	4,459	EB Escudier, Bernard J.	Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 187
90	4,476	TC Thèry, Clotilde	Institut Curie	Developmental Biology	Rank 225
91	4,479	AF Albarède, Francis A.	École Normale Supérieure de Lyon	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 44
92	4,563	LS Laurent, Stéphane L.	PARCC - Paris-Centre de Recherche Cardiovasculaire	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 225
93	4,585	KO Kahn, Olivier	Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 22
94	4,608	BM Bousser, Marchie Germaine	Hôpital Lariboisiere AP-HP	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 398
95	4,711	PL Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent	Université de Lorraine	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 79
96	4,729	FP Fenaux, Pierre	Hôpital Saint-Louis	Immunology	Rank 183
97	4,804	PT Poynard, T.	Hôpital Universitaire Pitié Salpêtrière	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 84
98	4,828	RJ Roujeau, Jean Claude	Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 16
99	4,904	WH Weimerskirch, Henri	Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC)	Ecology	Rank 99
100	4,959	Crini, Grégorio	Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement	Polymers	Rank 32
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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2025

Canada9,589 scientists

Japan8,730 scientists

Australia8,025 scientists

Italy6,839 scientists

Netherlands4,755 scientists

Spain3,816 scientists

Explore other countries

Career-long list2025

Germany12,166 scientists

Switzerland3,659 scientists

Belgium2,188 scientists

Austria1,472 scientists

Luxembourg65 scientists

United Kingdom20,571 scientists

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from France are in the 2025 Stanford Top 2% list?

5,886 scientists affiliated with France are on the 2025 single-year list, and 7,284 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2025 career-long list, CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique has the most listed scientists from France, with 278. It is followed by Université Paris-Saclay with 260.

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

On the career-long list, France went from 5,048 scientists in 2020 to 7,284 in 2025, a change of +44.3%.

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.