Saudi Arabia's Top 2% Scientists 2026

Saudi Arabia has 2,686 scientists on the 2026 single-year Top 2% list, up 27.3% from 2,110 in 2025. That places Saudi Arabia 16th in the world by number of listed scientists, up 2 places. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has the most listed scientists (248), followed by King Saud University (226).

Single Year

2,686

+576 (+27.3%) vs 2025

Career Data

1,071

+221 (+26.0%) vs 2025

World rank by count

#16

up 2 places vs 2025

Institutes

146

+13 (+9.8%) vs 2025

Scientists in Saudi Arabia on the list, by year

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

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+56.2%

2022+17.4%

2023+29.4%

2024+27.5%

2025+25.3%

2026+27.3%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	557		321
2021	870	+56.2%	443	+38.0%
2022	1,021	+17.4%	466	+5.2%
2023	1,321	+29.4%	576	+23.6%
2024	1,684	+27.5%	676	+17.4%
2025	2,110	+25.3%	850	+25.7%
2026	2,686	+27.3%	1,071	+26.0%

Top 10 institutes in Saudi Arabia

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2026

Show the list

1King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals248
2King Saud University226
3King Abdullah University of Science and Technology181
4King Khalid University133
5College of Sciences114
6King Faisal University114
7Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University111
8King Abdulaziz University105
9Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University101
10Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University83

All 2,686 scientists

Single-year list2026

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

The first 100 are free to browse.

Export CSV

Rank in Saudi Arabia	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	63	SJ Schmidhuber, Jürgen U.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 6
2	93	DY Dwivedi, Yogesh K.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Information Systems	Rank 3
3	187	DC Duarte, C. M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 1
4	227	ST Saleh, Tawfik A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Physics	Rank 5
5	854	AH Ali, Hafiz Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 22
6	995	A( Abdeljawad (Maraaba) T., Thabet	Prince Sultan University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 4
7	1,399	YZ Yaseen, Zaher Mundher	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Environmental Engineering	Rank 6
8	1,489	AZ ALOthman, Zeid A.	King Saud University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 6
9	1,553	WY Wada, Yoshihide	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 25
10	1,652	Raihan, Asif	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Environmental Sciences	Rank 33
11	1,658	AM Andreae, Meinrat O.	King Saud University	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 26
12	1,763	Saba, Tanzila	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 108
13	1,934	SP Schmid, Peter J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 14
14	1,968	RA Rehman, Amjad Ur	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 116
15	2,055	Omri, Anis	Qassim University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 39
16	2,140	KM Khalid, Muhammad Shoaib	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 51
17	2,151	Asiri, Abdullah M.	King Abdulaziz University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 18
18	2,187	RT Rasheed, Tahir	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Environmental Sciences	Rank 44
19	2,475	Galanakis, Charis M.	Taif University	Food Science	Rank 21
20	2,483	Ravi, Vinayakumar	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 145
21	2,662	GJ Gascón, Jorge	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 27
22	2,695	SA Subasi, Abdulhamit	Effat University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 153
23	2,711	MF Maestre, Fernando T.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Ecology	Rank 83
24	2,730	BN Baig, Nadeem	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Engineering	Rank 10
25	2,754	RR Rather, Raouf Ahmad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Sport, Leisure & Tourism	Rank 17
26	2,811	NM Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja	Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 96
27	2,875	KM Khan, Muhammad Ijaz	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 24
28	3,058	HM Hossain, M. Shamim	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 30
29	3,382	AM Alouini, Mohamed Slim	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 33
30	3,681	TL Tedersoo, Leho	College of Sciences	Microbiology	Rank 52
31	3,827	Nisar, Kottakkaran Sooppy	Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 15
32	3,833	NM Naushad, Mu	College of Sciences	Chemical Engineering	Rank 15
33	4,039	MG Muhammad, Ghulam	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 43
34	4,443	AM Al Memish, Ziad Ahmed	Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia	Microbiology	Rank 67
35	4,454	RM Rahman, Mohammed Muzibur	King Abdulaziz University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 13
36	4,473	EA Emwas, Abdul-Hamid Hamid Mohammad	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 58
37	4,708	SA Seadawy, Aly R.	Taibah University	General Physics	Rank 45
38	4,738	Mahmood, Haider	Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University	Energy	Rank 113
39	4,931	Shahid, Shamsuddin	National Center for Meteorology	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 85
40	4,954	SM Shkir, Mohd	King Khalid University	Applied Physics	Rank 108
41	4,957	QN Qasem, Naef A.A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 120
42	4,998	FA Fathy, Ahmed A.	Jouf University	Energy	Rank 123
43	5,192	AM Almazroui, Mansour	Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 90
44	5,516	AN Akbar, Noreen Sher	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 45
45	5,519	AM Amran, Mugahed Yahya Hussein	Taibah University	Building & Construction	Rank 47
46	5,542	EK Elwakeel, Khalid Z.	University of Jeddah	Chemical Engineering	Rank 23
47	5,718	KI Khan, Ilyas	Majmaah University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 46
48	5,724	IM Imran., Muhammad Asjad	King Khalid University	Food Science	Rank 45
49	5,761	OI Obot, Ime Bassey	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Physics	Rank 94
50	5,822	SV Saji, Viswanathan S.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Materials	Rank 118
51	5,852	AA Abouelregal, Ahmed E.	Jouf University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 47
52	5,939	AA Almatroudi, Ahmad Abdulaziz A.	Qassim University	Microbiology	Rank 88
53	6,137	AM Aslam, Muhammad	King Abdulaziz University	Statistics & Probability	Rank 50
54	6,146	Barakat, M. A.	King Abdulaziz University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 26
55	6,195	Kamal, Muhammad Shahzad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 156
56	6,220	Al-Shetwi, Ali Q.	Fahad Bin Sultan University	Energy	Rank 157
57	6,230	BF Bélaïd, Fateh	King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center	Energy	Rank 158
58	6,274	MP Magistretti, Pierre J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 307
59	6,390	EM Eddaoudi, M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 215
60	6,673	TB Thomas, Blessen Skariah	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Building & Construction	Rank 59
61	6,701	AM Abido, Mohammad A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 171
62	6,703	IM Iqbal, Munawar Javed	University of Tabuk	Materials	Rank 130
63	7,087	BA Baabdullah, Abdullah Mohammed A.	Faculty of Economics and Administration, King Abdulaziz University	Information Systems	Rank 32
64	7,090	CT Crowther, Thomas Ward	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Ecology	Rank 186
65	7,151	AA Azar, Ahmad Taher	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 388
66	7,154	AF Ameen, Fuad	King Saud University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 153
67	7,171	RS Razzak, Shaikh Abdur	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Engineering	Rank 30
68	7,187	RS Rehman, S. Ur	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 181
69	7,270	ZA Zeyad, Abdullah M.	Jazan University	Building & Construction	Rank 62
70	7,271	HM Haq, Mohd Anul	Majmaah University	Energy	Rank 186
71	7,706	GY Gulzar, Yonis	King Faisal University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 417
72	7,805	AM Abdel-Daim, Mohamed M.	Batterjee Medical College	Environmental Sciences	Rank 166
73	7,943	AI AlArifi, Ibrahim M.	Majmaah University	Materials	Rank 147
74	7,954	Muhammad, Taseer	King Khalid University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 65
75	8,158	SC Santamarina, Carlos J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 79
76	8,332	AM Asif, Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 218
77	8,380	MS Meo, Sultan Ayoub	College of Medicine	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 159
78	8,385	SL Sundar, Lingala Syam	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 68
79	8,556	AS Ansari, Sajid Ali	King Faisal University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 280
80	8,617	RH Rezk, Hegazy	Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University	Energy	Rank 223
81	8,622	Alamer, Abdullah	King Faisal University	Languages & Linguistics	Rank 61
82	8,702	IA Irfan, Ahmad	King Khalid University	Chemical Physics	Rank 133
83	8,746	SR Sathyamurthy, Ravishankar	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 225
84	8,769	WP Wang, Peng	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 288
85	8,770	AH Alshareef, Husam N.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 289
86	8,909	AR Alyousef, Rayed	Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University	Building & Construction	Rank 68
87	8,996	Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy	Umm Al-Qura University	Food Science	Rank 88
88	9,000	MO Mohammed, Omar F.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 296
89	9,058	YI Yousaf, Imran	Prince Sultan University	Finance	Rank 49
90	9,123	AT Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 117
91	9,254	WI Wuni, Ibrahim Yahaya	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Building & Construction	Rank 72
92	9,308	AS Ahmad, Shamsad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Building & Construction	Rank 74
93	9,417	MM Mahmoud, Mohamed Ahmed Nasr El Din	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 244
94	9,655	EH El-Lateef, Hany M.Abd	King Faisal University	Chemical Physics	Rank 139
95	9,710	KM Khan, Muhammad Attique	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 511
96	10,085	AM Ansari, Mohammad Azam	Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University	Microbiology	Rank 162
97	10,119	BA Bahammam, Ahmed Salem O.	King Saud University	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 499
98	10,300	CT Chan, Tony Fan Cheong	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 538
99	10,370	AM Ahamed, Maqusood Basheer	King Saud University	Toxicology	Rank 36
100	10,406	MM Masud, Md Mehedi	Taif University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 541
No scientists match this filter on the single-year list. Try the career-long list

Showing 1 to 100 of the first 100 Show

Paid plans

See all 2,686 scientists in Saudi Arabia

You are seeing the first 100. 2,586 more are on the 2026 single-year list.

Ranks 101 to 2,686The whole list, not only the top 100.

Every year since 2020Single Year and Career Data.

Search the full listBy name, institute or sub-field.

CSV exportDownload the list for your own work.

View Plans & Upgrade Compare plans

Cancel anytime · Secure billing

Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2026

South Korea4,001 scientists

Switzerland3,595 scientists

Sweden2,728 scientists

Iran2,678 scientists

Belgium2,182 scientists

Denmark2,138 scientists

Explore other countries

Single-year list2026

Turkey1,775 scientists

Israel1,637 scientists

United Arab Emirates805 scientists

Iraq348 scientists

Jordan312 scientists

Qatar311 scientists

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

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

2,686 scientists affiliated with Saudi Arabia are on the 2026 single-year list, and 1,071 are on the career-long list.

Which institute in Saudi Arabia has the most Top 2% scientists?

On the 2026 single-year list, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has the most listed scientists from Saudi Arabia, with 248. It is followed by King Saud University with 226.

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

On the single-year list, Saudi Arabia went from 557 scientists in 2020 to 2,686 in 2026, a change of +382.2%.

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.