Pakistan's Top 2% Scientists 2023

Pakistan has 709 scientists on the 2023 single-year Top 2% list, up 39.3% from 509 in 2022. That places Pakistan 38th in the world by number of listed scientists. Quaid-i-Azam University has the most listed scientists (40), followed by University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (36).

Single Year

709

+200 (+39.3%) vs 2022

Career Data

187

+50 (+36.5%) vs 2022

World rank by count

#38

No change vs 2022

Institutes

167

+34 (+25.6%) vs 2022

Scientists in Pakistan on the list, by year

The single-year count has more than doubled since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+56.4%

2022+33.9%

2023+39.3%

2024+18.8%

2025+12.4%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	243		81
2021	380	+56.4%	127	+56.8%
2022	509	+33.9%	137	+7.9%
2023	709	+39.3%	187	+36.5%
2024	842	+18.8%	223	+19.3%
2025	946	+12.4%	268	+20.2%

Top 10 institutes in Pakistan

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2023

Show the list

All 709 scientists

Single-year list2023

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in Pakistan	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	270	BZ Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.	The Aga Khan University	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 11
2	280	Ashraf, Muhammad	University of Lahore	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 3
3	1,142	HT Hayat, Tasawar	Quaid-i-Azam University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 11
4	1,542	VS Virani, Salim S.	Baylor College of Medicine	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 47
5	2,488	KM Khan, M. Ijaz	Riphah International University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 26
6	3,526	Ellahi, Rahmat	International Islamic University, Islamabad	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 35
7	4,232	AM Akram, Muhammad	University of the Punjab	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 166
8	6,020	SM Shahid, M.	University of Agriculture, Faisalabad	Environmental Sciences	Rank 90
9	6,202	IM Iqbal, Munawar	University of Education	Chemical Physics	Rank 107
10	6,267	Rizwan, Muhammad	Government College University Faisalabad	Environmental Sciences	Rank 93
11	6,415	WA Wahid, Abdul	Bahauddin Zakariya University	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 87
12	6,747	NS Nadeem, Sohail	Quaid-i-Azam University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 63
13	7,089	NM Noor, Muhammad Aslam	COMSATS University Islamabad	General Mathematics	Rank 23
14	7,176	FS Fahad, Shah	Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 100
15	7,808	KH Khan, H.	Gomal University	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 41
16	7,977	AM Akram, Muhammad	Government College University Faisalabad	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 43
17	8,035	AS Ali, Shafaqat	Government College University Faisalabad	Environmental Sciences	Rank 120
18	8,344	TM Tahir, M. B.	Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology	Energy	Rank 176
19	9,665	WM Waqas, Muhammad	National University of Technology	Applied Physics	Rank 198
20	10,030	AH Ali, H.	University of Malakand	Environmental Sciences	Rank 149
21	10,612	Javaid, Nadeem	COMSATS University Islamabad	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 96
22	11,260	AN Akbar, Noreen Sher	National University of Sciences and Technology Pakistan	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 104
23	11,647	AM Anser, Muhammad Khalid	The Superior University, Lahore	Environmental Sciences	Rank 176
24	12,524	IM Imran, M.	Islamia College, Peshawar	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 112
25	13,580	JW Jamshed, Wasim	Capital University of Science & Technology	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 129
26	13,710	Afsar, Bilal	Hazara University Pakistan	Business & Management	Rank 358
27	13,798	MT Mahmood, Tahir	International Islamic University, Islamabad	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 520
28	14,185	IM Irfan, Muhammad	Ilma University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 218
29	14,571	KM Khan, Masood	Quaid-i-Azam University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 140
30	15,029	Majeed, Muhammad Tariq	Quaid-i-Azam University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 226
31	15,033	AK Azam Khan, Muhammad	Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan	Economics	Rank 242
32	16,232	ZK Zaman, Khalid	The University of Haripur	Environmental Sciences	Rank 242
33	16,462	HI Hanif, Imran	Government College University Lahore	Energy	Rank 359
34	16,471	QS Qureshi, Sania	Mehran University of Engineering & Technology	Mathematical Physics	Rank 12
35	17,097	SA Saeed, Aamer	Quaid-i-Azam University	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 45
36	17,579	MM Mustafa, M.	National University of Sciences and Technology Pakistan	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 177
37	19,291	AM Ahmad, Mushtaq	Quaid-i-Azam University	Microscopy	Rank 4
38	19,917	Janjua, Muhammad Ramzan Saeed Ashraf	Government College University Faisalabad	Chemical Physics	Rank 307
39	20,804	AM Asjad, Muhammad Imran	University of Management and Technology Lahore	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 214
40	20,978	KM Khan, Muhammad Attique	HITEC University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 730
41	21,493	AJ Ali, Jawad	Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST)	Chemical Engineering	Rank 131
42	22,229	ZA Zeb, Alam	University of Malakand	Food Science	Rank 184
43	23,986	Ahmad, Khuram Shahzad	Fatima Jinnah Women University	Energy	Rank 533
44	24,459	Nizami, Abdul Sattar	Government College University Lahore	Energy	Rank 546
45	25,218	HA Haider, Adil H.	The Aga Khan University Medical College	Surgery	Rank 84
46	25,811	AF Anwar, Farooq	University of Sargodha	Food Science	Rank 218
47	26,964	MG Murtaza, G.	COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 135
48	27,074	Raza, Syed Ali	Iqra University	Business & Management	Rank 653
49	28,166	AM Ashraf, M. A.	Government College University Faisalabad	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 196
50	28,682	Ahmed, Mukhtar	PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 418
51	28,821	BA Baig, Abdul Mannan	The Aga Khan University	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 1,511
52	29,296	AJ Ali, J.	Quaid-i-Azam University	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 144
53	29,656	AM Ahmad, M.	Quaid-i-Azam University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 472
54	30,665	UI Ullah, Ikram	University of Engineering & Technology Mardan	Optics	Rank 110
55	30,989	AI Ahmad, Irshad	University of Agriculture, Faisalabad	General Chemistry	Rank 82
56	31,181	AS Akhtar, Saeed	Bahauddin Zakariya University	Food Science	Rank 265
57	31,252	BH Bhatti, Haq Nawaz	University of Agriculture, Faisalabad	Chemical Engineering	Rank 200
58	31,682	Afzal, Adeel	University of the Punjab	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 160
59	31,925	DJ Das, Jai K.	The Aga Khan University	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 468
60	32,096	KS Khan, Sardar	University of Peshawar	Environmental Sciences	Rank 507
61	32,396	AM Ali, Muhammad Irfan	Islamabad Model College for Boys	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,077
62	32,520	NN Niazi, Nabeel Khan	University of Agriculture, Faisalabad	Environmental Sciences	Rank 519
63	32,652	CM Choudhary, Muhammad I.	University of Karachi	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 102
64	34,319	SK Shah, Kamal	University of Malakand	Applied Mathematics	Rank 94
65	34,665	Ali, Majid	Capital University of Science & Technology	Building & Construction	Rank 212
66	35,366	SM Sharif, Muhammad	COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,162
67	35,432	AR Aadil, Rana Muhammad	University of Agriculture, Faisalabad	Food Science	Rank 316
68	37,321	KS Khan, Sami Ullah	COMSATS University Islamabad, Sahiwal Campus	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 344
69	37,587	Shah, Afzal	Quaid-i-Azam University	Energy	Rank 873
70	37,785	BR Briddon, R. W.	National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Pakistan	Virology	Rank 184
71	38,963	Zulfiqar, Faisal	The Islamia University of Bahawalpur	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 593
72	39,127	Abbas, Jawad	University of Central Punjab	Environmental Sciences	Rank 620
73	40,037	Irfan, Muhammad	Federal Urdu University of Arts	Applied Physics	Rank 762
74	40,333	Shahzad, Faisal	Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 1,310
75	40,538	SS Shehzad, S. A.	COMSATS University Islamabad, Sahiwal Campus	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 382
76	40,769	Razzaq, Asif	Ilma University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 642
77	41,194	SZ Shah, Zahir	University of Lakki Marwat	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 389
78	41,413	KT Khan, Tahir Mehmood	University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 225
79	41,540	Hussain, Saddam	University of Agriculture, Faisalabad	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 646
80	42,102	SZ Shinwari, Zabta Khan	Quaid-i-Azam University	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 658
81	42,196	AE Ahmed, Ejaz	University of the Punjab	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 381
82	42,673	Waheed, Yasir	Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 625
83	43,238	IT Islam, Talat	University of the Punjab	Business & Management	Rank 964
84	43,953	RM Ramzan, Muhammad	Bahria University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 420
85	44,312	ZM Zafar, Muhammad Wasif	Riphah International University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 686
86	44,443	KN Khalid, Nauman	University of Management and Technology Lahore	Food Science	Rank 416
87	45,149	AK Ayub, Khurshid	COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus	Chemical Physics	Rank 627
88	45,587	NM Nadeem, Muhammad	University of Sargodha	Food Science	Rank 433
89	45,841	Khan, A.	Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,488
90	46,828	AM Ahmad, Manzoor	Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan	Environmental Sciences	Rank 728
91	47,555	AM Arshad, Muhammad	University of Sargodha	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 769
92	47,766	ST Salahuddin, T.	Mirpur University of Science and Technology	Applied Physics	Rank 907
93	47,799	UK Ullah, Kifayat	Riphah International University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,552
94	47,804	AS Ahmad, Shakeel	Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 776
95	48,096	HI Hussain, Irshad	Lahore University of Management Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 1,578
96	48,107	GA Gilani, Anwar H.	The Aga Khan University Medical College	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 160
97	48,201	ZA Zeeshan, Ahmed	International Islamic University, Islamabad	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 464
98	48,643	BA Bano, Asghari	University of Wah	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 794
99	49,059	ZZ Zahir, Zahir Ahmad	University of Agriculture, Faisalabad	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 803
100	49,159	SM Sharif, M.	University of Lahore	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 562
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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2023

Portugal791 scientistsin 2023

Ireland777 scientistsin 2023

Malaysia716 scientistsin 2023

Czech Republic472 scientistsin 2023

United Arab Emirates408 scientistsin 2023

Mexico355 scientistsin 2023

Explore other countries

Single-year list2023

India4,635 scientistsin 2023

Iran2,141 scientistsin 2023

Bangladesh177 scientistsin 2023

Sri Lanka42 scientistsin 2023

Nepal22 scientistsin 2023

China23,487 scientistsin 2023

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Pakistan are in the 2023 Stanford Top 2% list?

709 scientists affiliated with Pakistan are on the 2023 single-year list, and 187 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2023 single-year list, Quaid-i-Azam University has the most listed scientists from Pakistan, with 40. It is followed by University of Agriculture, Faisalabad with 36.

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

On the single-year list, Pakistan went from 243 scientists in 2020 to 709 in 2023, a change of +191.8%.

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.