Germany's Top 2% Scientists 2020

Germany has 8,177 scientists on the 2020 single-year Top 2% list. That places Germany 4th in the world by number of listed scientists. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München has the most listed scientists (194), followed by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (169).

Single Year

8,177

First year listed

Career Data

8,792

First year listed

World rank by count

First year listed

Institutes

904

First year listed

Scientists in Germany on the list, by year

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+15.4%

2022+5.6%

2023+1.3%

2024+3.3%

2025+2.3%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	8,177		8,792
2021	9,436	+15.4%	9,986	+13.6%
2022	9,961	+5.6%	10,562	+5.8%
2023	10,088	+1.3%	10,990	+4.1%
2024	10,422	+3.3%	11,573	+5.3%
2025	10,666	+2.3%	12,166	+5.1%

Top 10 institutes in Germany

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2020

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All 8,177 scientists

Single-year list2020

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in Germany	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	14	GS Grimme, Stefan	Universität Bonn	Chemical Physics	Rank 2
2	34	SG Sheldrick, George M.	Universität Göttingen	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 1
3	75	NF Neese, Frank	Max Planck Institute for Coal Research	Chemical Physics	Rank 4
4	91	SA Stamatakis, Alexandros	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology	Bioinformatics	Rank 3
5	189	BP Blöchl, Peter E.	Technische Universität Clausthal	Applied Physics	Rank 7
6	208	AL Ackermann, Lutz	Universität Göttingen	Organic Chemistry	Rank 2
7	249	van der Aalst, Wil M.P.	Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 19
8	278	SH Sies, Helmut	Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 9
9	313	RD Raabe, Dierk	Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH	Materials	Rank 6
10	337	MS Maier, Stefan A.	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 19
11	340	MM Mann, Matthias	Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry	Developmental Biology	Rank 14
12	367	PM Pfaffl, Michael W.	Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan für Ernährung, Landnutzung und Umwelt	Dairy & Animal Science	Rank 1
13	378	SV Springel, Volker	Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 1
14	384	MJ Maier, J.	Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research	Energy	Rank 10
15	428	BH Brenner, Hermann	German Cancer Research Center	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 20
16	440	AM Antonietti, Markus	Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 23
17	446	KY Kuzyakov, Yakov	Universität Göttingen	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 3
18	455	LR Ley, Ruth E.	Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology	Developmental Biology	Rank 20
19	487	WM Winkler, Michael	Universität Paderborn	General Mathematics	Rank 1
20	533	JJ Jonas, Jost Bruno	Universität Heidelberg	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 1
21	560	SR Schlögl, Robert	Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society	Physical Chemistry	Rank 4
22	561	BP Bork, Peer	European Molecular Biology Laboratory Heidelberg	Developmental Biology	Rank 24
23	570	SB Scrosati, Bruno	Helmholtz Institute Ulm	Energy	Rank 16
24	595	PM Pinquart, Martin	Philipps-Universität Marburg	Developmental & Child Psychology	Rank 8
25	623	MF Menter, Florian R.	ANSYS, Inc.	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 9
26	664	WF Weigend, Florian	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology	Chemical Physics	Rank 24
27	667	HS Hell, Stefan W.	Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry	Optics	Rank 5
28	682	RM Rillig, Matthias C.	Freie Universität Berlin	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 5
29	719	SB Scholkopf, Bernhard	Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 43
30	747	WH Wittchen, Hans Ulrich	Technische Universität Dresden	Psychiatry	Rank 16
31	821	NM Neurath, Markus F.	Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 8
32	888	FS Fulda, Simone	Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 29
33	904	CP Crutzen, Paul J.	Max Planck Institute for Chemistry	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 7
34	906	PH Pörtner, Hans O.	Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung	Physiology	Rank 1
35	964	KW Kabsch, Wolfgang	Max Planck Institute for Medical Research	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 17
36	975	WF Würthner, Frank	Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 12
37	1,027	MK Müllen, Klaus	Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research	General Chemistry	Rank 11
38	1,042	HA Hashmi, A. Stephen K.	Universität Heidelberg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 13
39	1,044	FA Fürstner, Alois	Max Planck Institute for Coal Research	Organic Chemistry	Rank 14
40	1,056	SP Strasser, Peter	Technical University of Berlin	Energy	Rank 25
41	1,089	KK Kümmerer, Klaus	Leuphana Universität Lüneburg	Environmental Sciences	Rank 7
42	1,097	FP Fries, Pascal	Ernst Strüngmann Institut gGmbH	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 74
43	1,166	MP Murray, Peter J.	Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry	Immunology	Rank 28
44	1,167	BM Blüher, Matthias	Universität Leipzig	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 20
45	1,195	SS Sonnentag, Sabine	Universität Mannheim	Business & Management	Rank 34
46	1,204	FA Friederici, Angela D.	Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 83
47	1,210	TT Ternes, Thomas A.	Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde	Environmental Sciences	Rank 10
48	1,219	AM Andreae, Meinrat O.	Max Planck Institute for Chemistry	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 12
49	1,234	SD Svergun, Dmitri I.	European Molecular Biology Laboratory Hamburg	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 27
50	1,244	TA Thomas, Arne	Technical University of Berlin	Organic Chemistry	Rank 19
51	1,250	BH Braak, Heiko	Universität Ulm	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 86
52	1,306	DI Dikic, Ivan	Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main	Developmental Biology	Rank 59
53	1,311	SA Studer, Armido	Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster	Organic Chemistry	Rank 21
54	1,316	WO Wolfbeis, Otto S.	Universität Regensburg	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 5
55	1,323	JC Janiak, Christoph	Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 6
56	1,337	BM Beller, Matthias	Leibniz Institute for Catalysis	Organic Chemistry	Rank 23
57	1,354	GG Gigerenzer, Gerd	Harding Center for Risk Literacy	Experimental Psychology	Rank 23
58	1,367	SG Schett, Georg	Universitätsklinik Erlangen und Medizinische Fakultät	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 7
59	1,375	BC Brabec, Christoph J.	Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg	Applied Physics	Rank 45
60	1,394	SM Saliba, Michael	Technische Universität Darmstadt	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 53
61	1,414	SA Stukowski, Alexander	Technische Universität Darmstadt	Materials	Rank 34
62	1,426	FP Fratzl, Peter	Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces	Materials	Rank 35
63	1,427	WM Winter, Martin	Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster	Energy	Rank 30
64	1,448	HA Hofmann, Albrecht W.	Max Planck Institute for Chemistry	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 18
65	1,553	SS Seuring, Stefan	Universität Kassel	Business & Management	Rank 40
66	1,598	SR Schwarzer, Ralf	Freie Universität Berlin	Public Health	Rank 17
67	1,604	FX Feng, Xinliang	Technische Universität Dresden	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 57
68	1,606	RM Reck, Martin	German Center for Lung Research	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 54
69	1,609	HG Heusch, Gerd	Universitäts Klinikum Essen und Medizinische Fakultät	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 38
70	1,685	BA Boccaccini, Aldo R.	Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg	Materials	Rank 39
71	1,690	BI Bloch, Immanuel	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München	General Physics	Rank 14
72	1,693	GF Glorius, Frank	Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster	Organic Chemistry	Rank 30
73	1,701	CR Conrad, Ralf	Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology	Microbiology	Rank 27
74	1,760	RP Russell, P. St J.	Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light	Optics	Rank 16
75	1,774	LE Latz, Eicke	Universität Bonn	Immunology	Rank 41
76	1,782	KI Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid	Institute for Advanced Study of Technical University of Munich	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 10
77	1,805	HF Hartl, F. Ulrich	Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry	Developmental Biology	Rank 80
78	1,852	WH Werner, Hans Joachim	Universität Stuttgart	Chemical Physics	Rank 46
79	1,881	DS Ding, Steven X.	Universität Duisburg-Essen	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 18
80	1,885	KA Klamt, Andreas	Dassault Systemes	Chemical Engineering	Rank 15
81	1,896	LH Lichtenthaler, Hartmut K.	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 11
82	1,900	TF Tacke, Frank	Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 16
83	1,912	PC Pahl-Wostl, Claudia	Universität Osnabrück	Environmental Sciences	Rank 14
84	1,937	SF Schüth, Ferdi	Max Planck Institute for Coal Research	Organic Chemistry	Rank 34
85	1,976	PU Pöschl, Ulrich	Max Planck Institute for Chemistry	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 24
86	1,977	SA Stang, Andreas	Universitäts Klinikum Essen und Medizinische Fakultät	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 53
87	1,983	LB List, Benjamin	Max Planck Institute for Coal Research	Organic Chemistry	Rank 35
88	2,012	TM Thommes, Matthias	Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg	Chemical Physics	Rank 48
89	2,039	LW Löscher, Wolfgang	Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 130
90	2,081	PB Persson, B. N.J.	Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ)	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 25
91	2,086	BH Baumgartner, Helmut	Department of Cardiology III - Adult Congenital and Valvular Heart Disease University Hospital Muenster	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 61
92	2,108	DH Diener, Hans Christoph	Universität Duisburg-Essen	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 134
93	2,116	PW Paulus, Walter	Universitätsmedizin Göttingen	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 135
94	2,127	WR Waser, R.	Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen	Applied Physics	Rank 66
95	2,144	BL Bornmann, Lutz	Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society	Information & Library Sciences	Rank 5
96	2,149	RM Reetz, Manfred T.	Philipps-Universität Marburg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 38
97	2,157	ZU Ziemann, Ulf	Hertie-Institut für klinische Hirnforschung	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 138
98	2,164	WD Weigel, Detlef	Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology	Developmental Biology	Rank 90
99	2,200	KK Kreuer, Klaus Dieter	Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research	Energy	Rank 45
100	2,260	PK Pantel, Klaus	Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf und Medizinische Fakultät	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 75
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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2020

United States59,785 scientistsin 2020

United Kingdom13,805 scientistsin 2020

China12,955 scientistsin 2020

Canada6,602 scientistsin 2020

Australia6,100 scientistsin 2020

Italy4,746 scientistsin 2020

Explore other countries

Single-year list2020

France4,502 scientistsin 2020

Netherlands3,480 scientistsin 2020

Switzerland2,622 scientistsin 2020

Belgium1,503 scientistsin 2020

Austria984 scientistsin 2020

Luxembourg48 scientistsin 2020

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Frequently asked questions

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

8,177 scientists affiliated with Germany are on the 2020 single-year list, and 8,792 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2020 single-year list, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München has the most listed scientists from Germany, with 194. It is followed by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin with 169.

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.