Iceland's Top 2% Scientists 2023
Iceland has 57 scientists on the 2023 single-year Top 2% list, up 11.8% from 51 in 2022. That places Iceland 72nd in the world by number of listed scientists. Haskoli Islands has the most listed scientists (27), followed by Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands (6).
Scientists in Iceland on the list, by year
The single-year count has grown 36% 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 57 scientists
| Rank in Iceland | World rank | Scientist | Institute | Sub-field | Rank in sub-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4,745 | Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland | Gastroenterology & Hepatology | Rank 64 | |
| 2 | 4,960 | Haskoli Islands | Geological & Geomatics Engineering | Rank 44 | |
| 3 | 5,603 | Haskoli Islands | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Rank 24 | |
| 4 | 6,770 | Haskoli Islands | Fisheries | Rank 9 | |
| 5 | 12,656 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 189 | |
| 6 | 15,683 | Reykjavik University | Operations Research | Rank 72 | |
| 7 | 23,142 | Reykjavik University | Networking & Telecommunications | Rank 204 | |
| 8 | 29,628 | Icelandic Heart Association | Developmental Biology | Rank 829 | |
| 9 | 29,709 | Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans | Chemical Physics | Rank 436 | |
| 10 | 30,678 | deCODE genetics | Developmental Biology | Rank 851 | |
| 11 | 31,316 | Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans | Physical Chemistry | Rank 128 | |
| 12 | 37,471 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 600 | |
| 13 | 38,444 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 627 | |
| 14 | 39,313 | Haskoli Islands | Ophthalmology & Optometry | Rank 187 | |
| 15 | 39,937 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Immunology | Rank 905 | |
| 16 | 40,168 | Haskoli Islands | Dentistry | Rank 170 | |
| 17 | 43,827 | Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis | Public Health | Rank 478 | |
| 18 | 47,185 |
DE
|
Reykjavik University | Finance | Rank 180 |
| 19 | 47,666 | deCODE genetics | Developmental Biology | Rank 1,259 | |
| 20 | 48,655 | Reykjavik University | Marketing | Rank 273 | |
| 21 | 53,929 | deCODE genetics | Developmental Biology | Rank 1,414 | |
| 22 | 59,216 | Haskoli Islands | Evolutionary Biology | Rank 417 | |
| 23 | 63,822 | Google LLC | Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing | Rank 2,053 | |
| 24 | 65,491 |
WB
|
Haskoli Islands | Chemical Engineering | Rank 470 |
| 25 | 65,776 | deCODE genetics | Developmental Biology | Rank 1,694 | |
| 26 | 67,497 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 1,099 | |
| 27 | 69,922 |
YS
|
Reykjavik University | Psychiatry | Rank 1,200 |
| 28 | 72,343 | Haskoli Islands | Fisheries | Rank 133 | |
| 29 | 75,418 | Haskoli Islands | Food Science | Rank 743 | |
| 30 | 85,370 | EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Rank 555 | |
| 31 | 86,468 | deCODE genetics | Developmental Biology | Rank 2,216 | |
| 32 | 107,529 | Haskoli Islands | Strategic, Defence & Security Studies | Rank 185 | |
| 33 | 110,234 | Haskoli Islands | Philosophy | Rank 130 | |
| 34 | 111,057 | Haskoli Islands | Education | Rank 1,148 | |
| 35 | 111,467 | Haskoli Islands | Geochemistry & Geophysics | Rank 1,757 | |
| 36 | 111,486 | Reykjavik University | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 1,409 | |
| 37 | 118,292 |
VP
|
The Krafla | Networking & Telecommunications | Rank 1,203 |
| 38 | 120,978 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Cardiovascular System & Hematology | Rank 3,169 | |
| 39 | 123,810 | Haskoli Islands | Experimental Psychology | Rank 1,320 | |
| 40 | 128,834 |
MM
|
School of Health Sciences | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Rank 903 |
| 41 | 131,604 | Haskoli Islands | Paleontology | Rank 416 | |
| 42 | 134,764 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Dermatology & Venereal Diseases | Rank 514 | |
| 43 | 141,579 | Haskoli Islands | Strategic, Defence & Security Studies | Rank 248 | |
| 44 | 148,402 | Icelandic Cancer Registry | Oncology & Carcinogenesis | Rank 5,278 | |
| 45 | 170,821 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Respiratory System | Rank 1,182 | |
| 46 | 171,575 | Raunvísindastofnun Háskólans | Applied Physics | Rank 3,484 | |
| 47 | 184,862 | Haskoli Islands | Energy | Rank 4,931 | |
| 48 | 192,993 | Haskoli Islands | Logistics & Transportation | Rank 632 | |
| 49 | 255,208 | Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Cardiovascular System & Hematology | Rank 6,044 | |
| 50 | 259,509 |
LG
|
Haskoli Islands | Archaeology | Rank 270 |
| 51 | 262,564 | Haskoli Islands | Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry | Rank 1,278 | |
| 52 | 284,478 | Haskoli Islands | Music | Rank 12 | |
| 53 | 284,552 |
ZH
|
Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Rank 2,334 |
| 54 | 313,701 | Háskólinn á Akureyri | Nursing | Rank 1,031 | |
| 55 | 327,182 | School of Health Sciences | Nursing | Rank 1,084 | |
| 56 | 720,202 | Haskoli Islands | Folklore | Rank 3 | |
| 57 | 1,345,791 | Haskoli Islands | History | Rank 638 | |
| No scientists match this filter. | |||||
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Frequently asked questions
How many scientists from Iceland are in the 2023 Stanford Top 2% list?
57 scientists affiliated with Iceland are on the 2023 single-year list, and 64 are on the career-long list.
Which institute in Iceland has the most Top 2% scientists?
On the 2023 single-year list, Haskoli Islands has the most listed scientists from Iceland, with 27. It is followed by Læknadeild Háskóla Íslands with 6.
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 57 in 2023, a change of +35.7%.
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.