Iceland's Top 2% Scientists 2021: Career-Long List
Iceland has 50 scientists on the 2021 career-long Top 2% list, up 16.3% from 43 in 2020. That places Iceland 61st in the world by number of listed scientists, down 4 places. Haskoli Islands has the most listed scientists (21), followed by Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland (7).
Scientists in Iceland on the list, by year
The career-long count has grown 16% since 2020.
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% |
Top 10 institutes in Iceland
By number of listed scientists
All 50 scientists
| Rank in Iceland | World rank | Scientist | Institute | Sub-field | Rank in sub-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6,536 | Haskoli Islands | Fisheries | Rank 8 | |
| 2 | 8,341 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | Gastroenterology & Hepatology | Rank 135 | |
| 3 | 9,245 | Haskoli Islands | Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Rank 18 | |
| 4 | 9,981 | Haskoli Islands | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Rank 67 | |
| 5 | 17,900 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Developmental Biology | Rank 799 | |
| 6 | 19,764 | Haskoli Islands | Ophthalmology & Optometry | Rank 90 | |
| 7 | 29,177 | Haskoli Islands | Chemical Physics | Rank 681 | |
| 8 | 39,623 | Reykjavik University | Marketing | Rank 73 | |
| 9 | 41,035 | Vogur Hospital | Substance Abuse | Rank 137 | |
| 10 | 53,815 | deCODE genetics | Developmental Biology | Rank 1,913 | |
| 11 | 55,913 |
DD
|
Reykjavik University | Business & Management | Rank 532 |
| 12 | 59,350 | Reykjavik University | Computation Theory & Mathematics | Rank 166 | |
| 13 | 60,444 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 1,039 | |
| 14 | 62,790 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | Immunology | Rank 1,878 | |
| 15 | 72,496 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences | Rank 1,065 | |
| 16 | 75,065 | Haskoli Islands | Food Science | Rank 310 | |
| 17 | 75,093 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 1,307 | |
| 18 | 77,769 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Dermatology & Venereal Diseases | Rank 500 | |
| 19 | 82,992 | Haskoli Islands | Fisheries | Rank 195 | |
| 20 | 83,067 | Nordic Volcanological Center | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 1,460 | |
| 21 | 90,902 |
FD
|
Haskoli Islands | Nuclear & Particle Physics | Rank 1,541 |
| 22 | 91,447 | Reykjavik University | Networking & Telecommunications | Rank 794 | |
| 23 | 92,320 | Nordic Volcanological Center | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 1,620 | |
| 24 | 93,155 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Immunology | Rank 2,622 | |
| 25 | 93,696 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | Microbiology | Rank 2,361 | |
| 26 | 96,283 | deCODE genetics | Developmental Biology | Rank 3,021 | |
| 27 | 97,062 | Reykjavik University | Clinical Psychology | Rank 334 | |
| 28 | 100,182 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 1,759 | |
| 29 | 101,180 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | Respiratory System | Rank 1,017 | |
| 30 | 103,808 |
YS
|
Reykjavik University | Psychiatry | Rank 1,861 |
| 31 | 113,801 | Akureyri Regional Hospital | Oncology & Carcinogenesis | Rank 4,435 | |
| 32 | 116,737 | Haskoli Islands | Oncology & Carcinogenesis | Rank 4,555 | |
| 33 | 117,058 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | Respiratory System | Rank 1,175 | |
| 34 | 119,662 | Haskoli Islands | Dentistry | Rank 705 | |
| 35 | 119,763 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 2,054 | |
| 36 | 145,376 | Haskoli Islands | Education | Rank 798 | |
| 37 | 156,345 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Environmental & Occupational Health | Rank 172 | |
| 38 | 176,352 | Haskoli Islands | Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Rank 2,886 | |
| 39 | 187,752 | IEEE | Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Rank 792 | |
| 40 | 192,538 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | Anesthesiology | Rank 827 | |
| 41 | 197,422 |
LG
|
Haskoli Islands | Archaeology | Rank 188 |
| 42 | 242,594 | DT-Equipment | Optics | Rank 955 | |
| 43 | 244,581 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 2,696 | |
| 44 | 246,364 | Háskólinn á Akureyri | Nursing | Rank 925 | |
| 45 | 264,062 | Haskoli Islands | Nursing | Rank 1,022 | |
| 46 | 268,531 | School of Health Sciences | Nursing | Rank 1,046 | |
| 47 | 279,750 | Haskoli Islands | Nursing | Rank 1,106 | |
| 48 | 321,676 |
AL
|
Reykjavik University | Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Rank 5,604 |
| 49 | 408,887 | Haskoli Islands | Nursing | Rank 1,787 | |
| 50 | 587,514 | Haskoli Islands | Folklore | Rank 4 | |
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Frequently asked questions
How many scientists from Iceland are in the 2021 Stanford Top 2% list?
51 scientists affiliated with Iceland are on the 2021 single-year list, and 50 are on the career-long list.
Which institute in Iceland has the most Top 2% scientists?
On the 2021 career-long list, Haskoli Islands has the most listed scientists from Iceland, with 21. It is followed by Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland with 7.
How has the number of Top 2% scientists in Iceland changed since 2020?
On the career-long list, Iceland went from 43 scientists in 2020 to 50 in 2021, a change of +16.3%.
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.