Iceland's Top 2% Scientists 2026

Iceland has 63 scientists on the 2026 single-year Top 2% list, down 4.5% from 66 in 2025. That places Iceland 78th in the world by number of listed scientists, down 3 places. Haskoli Islands has the most listed scientists (28), followed by Reykjavík University (10).

Single Year

-3 (-4.5%) vs 2025

Career Data

+3 (+3.8%) vs 2025

World rank by count

#78

down 3 places vs 2025

Institutes

+1 (+7.1%) vs 2025

Scientists in Iceland on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 50% since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+21.4%

2022+0.0%

2023+11.8%

2024+3.5%

2025+11.9%

2026-4.5%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	42		43
2021	51	+21.4%	50	+16.3%
2022	51	+0.0%	55	+10.0%
2023	57	+11.8%	64	+16.4%
2024	59	+3.5%	63	-1.6%
2025	66	+11.9%	78	+23.8%
2026	63	-4.5%	81	+3.8%

Top 10 institutes in Iceland

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2026

Show the list

All 63 scientists

Single-year list2026

Showing the 2026 single-year list. Looking for career rankings? See the career-long list

Everyone on the list, free to browse.

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Rank in Iceland	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	3,527	BE BjÖrnssÖn, Einar Stefán	Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 46
2	6,442	LT Loftsson, Thorsteinn	Haskoli Islands	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 34
3	8,321	GP Ghamisi, Pedram	Haskoli Islands	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 82
4	9,037	CS Campana, Steven E.	Haskoli Islands	Fisheries	Rank 12
5	11,344	KS Kozieł, Sławomir Marcin	Reykjavík University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 112
6	12,225	BJ Benediktsson, Jón Atli	Haskoli Islands	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 134
7	16,050	WL Wang, Lulu	Reykjavík University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 165
8	16,504	ST Sawik, Tadeusz J.	Reykjavík University	Operations Research	Rank 63
9	22,166	SK Stéfansson, Kári	deCODE genetics	Developmental Biology	Rank 523
10	31,803	JH Jónsson, Hannes	Haskoli Islands	Chemical Physics	Rank 428
11	33,192	GS Gíslason, Sigurður Reynir	Haskoli Islands	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 457
12	36,432	DE Demir, Ender	Reykjavík University	Finance	Rank 161
13	40,439	YS Young, Susan Jane	Reykjavík University	Psychiatry	Rank 689
14	42,458	SE Stefánsson, Einar	Haskoli Islands	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 175
15	45,084	DS Durst, Susanne	Reykjavík University	Business & Management	Rank 1,153
16	47,948	PB Pjetursson, Bjarni Elvar	Haskoli Islands	Dentistry	Rank 202
17	48,772	EJ Einarsdóttir, Jo´Hanna	Haskoli Islands	Education	Rank 684
18	49,067	AS Arnórsson, Stefàn A.	Haskoli Islands	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 667
19	49,260	GV Gudnason, V. G.	Icelandic Heart Association	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,052
20	50,908	GD Gudbjartsson, Daníel Fannar	Haskoli Islands	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,094
21	55,884	GD Gautam, Dipendra	Haskoli Islands	Strategic, Defence & Security Studies	Rank 102
22	63,060	KS Kristinsson, Sigurdur Yngvi	Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland	Immunology	Rank 1,115
23	65,544	SI Sigfúsdóttir, Inga Dóra	Reykjavík University	Public Health	Rank 641
24	70,681	SH Stéfansson, Hreinn	deCODE genetics	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,482
25	71,726	SE Skúlason, Egill	Atmonia ehf.	Physical Chemistry	Rank 254
26	73,181	MM Másson, Már	School of Health Sciences	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 465
27	88,182	MB Magnadóttir, Bergljót	Haskoli Islands	Fisheries	Rank 179
28	92,679	TG Thorleifsson, Gudmar	deCODE genetics	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,928
29	105,423	TT Thordarson, Thor	Haskoli Islands	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 1,411
30	108,425	EP Einarsson, Páll	Nordic Volcanological Center	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 1,461
31	109,038	SH Sigurdsson, Haraldur	Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 1,470
32	111,806	WB Wu, Bing	Haskoli Islands	Chemical Engineering	Rank 1,001
33	115,118	RK Ragnarsdóttir, Kristín Vala	Haskoli Islands	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 1,543
34	120,101	GS Gizurarson, Sveinbjörn	Haskoli Islands	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 851
35	124,907	SP Sulem, Patrick	deCODE genetics	Developmental Biology	Rank 2,600
36	125,938	LG Lucas, Gavin	Haskoli Islands	Archaeology	Rank 103
37	128,774	PM Parnham, Michael John	EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 938
38	136,246	KÁ Kristjánsson, Árni Kjalar	Haskoli Islands	Experimental Psychology	Rank 1,343
39	137,967	HJ Heinonen, Jukka Taneli	Haskoli Islands	Energy	Rank 4,344
40	141,382	SS Snæbjörnsdottir, Sandra Ósk	Carbfix	Energy	Rank 4,457
41	141,926	SF Sigmundsson, Freysteinn	Haskoli Islands	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 1,895
42	150,591	SR Sigurvinsdóttir, Rannveig S.	Reykjavík University	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 1,979
43	152,020	AG Apruzzese, Giovanni	University of Liechtenstein Vaduz	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 6,942
44	182,746	IA Imsland, Albert Kjartan Dagbjartarson	Akvaplan-niva Iceland Office	Fisheries	Rank 441
45	186,147	GT Gudbjartsson, Tómas	Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland	Respiratory System	Rank 1,058
46	194,575	GG Gudmundsson, Gunnar B.	Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands	Respiratory System	Rank 1,106
47	210,743	GT Gíslason, Thórarinn	Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland	Respiratory System	Rank 1,182
48	223,572	AT Aspelund, Thor	Haskoli Islands	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 4,734
49	227,825	CP Costa, Pedro S.	Haskoli Islands	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 1,316
50	238,142	HM Halldórsson, Magnús M.	Reykjavík University	Computation Theory & Mathematics	Rank 350
51	245,124	MT Magnusson, Thor	Haskoli Islands	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 10,908
52	247,874	SB Sigurgeirsson, Bárdur	Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 852
53	254,394	RT Rùnarsson, Thomas Philip	Haskoli Islands	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 11,311
54	260,302	AY Abghoui, Younes	Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans	Physical Chemistry	Rank 956
55	264,039	KM Khan, Muhammad Isa	Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans	Applied Physics	Rank 4,952
56	281,146	SI Shelykh, Ivan Andreevich	Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans	Applied Physics	Rank 5,297
57	295,152	RR Rupakhety, Rajesh	Haskoli Islands	Strategic, Defence & Security Studies	Rank 539
58	309,153	ZH Zoëga, H.	Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 2,678
59	320,705	SH Sveinsdóttir, Herdís	School of Health Sciences	Nursing	Rank 1,142
60	347,930	HS Halldórsdóttir, Sigrídur	Háskólinn á Akureyri	Nursing	Rank 1,250
61	351,025	HV Hafstein, Valdimar Tr	Haskoli Islands	Folklore	Rank 2
62	378,165	HS Hardarson, Sveinn Hákon	Haskoli Islands	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 1,827
63	622,661	SI Sigfusdottir, Inga Dóra	Reykjavík University	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 6,931
No scientists match this filter on the single-year list. Try the career-long list

Showing 1 to 63 of 63 Show

Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2026

Philippines74 scientists

Kazakhstan73 scientists

Sri Lanka68 scientists

Palestine, State of50 scientists

Puerto Rico46 scientists

Azerbaijan45 scientists

Explore other countries

Single-year list2026

United Kingdom18,300 scientists

Sweden2,728 scientists

Denmark2,138 scientists

Norway1,307 scientists

Finland1,274 scientists

Ireland995 scientists

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Iceland are in the 2026 Stanford Top 2% list?

63 scientists affiliated with Iceland are on the 2026 single-year list, and 81 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2026 single-year list, Haskoli Islands has the most listed scientists from Iceland, with 28. It is followed by Reykjavík University with 10.

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

On the single-year list, Iceland went from 42 scientists in 2020 to 63 in 2026, a change of +50.0%.

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.