Saudi Arabia's Top 2% Scientists 2020

Saudi Arabia has 557 scientists on the 2020 single-year Top 2% list. That places Saudi Arabia 34th in the world by number of listed scientists. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has the most listed scientists (99), followed by King Saud University (93).

Single Year

557

First year listed

Career Data

321

First year listed

World rank by count

#34

First year listed

Institutes

First year listed

Scientists in Saudi Arabia on the list, by year

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+56.2%

2022+17.4%

2023+29.4%

2024+27.5%

2025+25.3%

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%

Top 10 institutes in Saudi Arabia

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2020

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All 557 scientists

Single-year list2020

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in Saudi Arabia	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	79	DA Demirbas, Ayhan	King Abdulaziz University	Energy	Rank 2
2	98	Yaghi, Omar M.	King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology	General Chemistry	Rank 1
3	137	GV Gupta, Vinod Kumar	King Abdulaziz University	Chemical Physics	Rank 6
4	210	ST Saleh, Tawfik A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Engineering	Rank 2
5	303	CA Chamkha, Ali J.	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 5
6	349	DC Duarte, Carlos M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 1
7	737	SA Sari, Ahmet	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 21
8	757	HT Hayat, Tasawar	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 9
9	1,314	NM Naushad, Mu	King Saud University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 9
10	1,347	MW Mahmoud, Waleed E.	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Physics	Rank 44
11	1,421	BA Biswas, Anjan	King Abdulaziz University	Optics	Rank 9
12	1,494	AZ ALOthman, Zeid A.	King Saud University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 7
13	1,596	Asiri, Abdullah M.	King Abdulaziz University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 28
14	1,926	ZA Zenkour, Ashraf M.	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 21
15	2,028	KH Koenig, Harold G.	King Abdulaziz University	Psychiatry	Rank 56
16	2,697	TM Tuzen, Mustafa	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 13
17	2,865	Rashad, Alaa M.	Shaqra University	Building & Construction	Rank 16
18	3,117	AM Alouini, Mohamed Slim	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 31
19	3,226	AM Abido, Mohammad A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 63
20	3,546	BM Barakat, M. A.	King Abdulaziz University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 37
21	3,729	SA Subasi, Abdulhamit	Effat University, Saudi Arabia	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 130
22	3,951	TA Tounsi, Abdelouahed	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Civil Engineering	Rank 10
23	4,119	MP Magistretti, Pierre	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 282
24	4,176	AT Abdeljawad, Thabet	Prince Sultan University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 19
25	4,335	TK Takanabe, Kazuhiro	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Physical Chemistry	Rank 24
26	4,364	EM Eddaoudi, Mohamed	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	General Chemistry	Rank 36
27	4,419	Khaled, Khaled F.	Taif University	Energy	Rank 90
28	4,971	AA Alsaedi, Ahmed	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 45
29	5,011	AE Aifantis, Elias C.	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 46
30	5,064	SA Seadawy, Aly R.	Taibah University	Applied Physics	Rank 118
31	5,743	HN Hirokawa, Nobutaka	King Abdulaziz University	Developmental Biology	Rank 217
32	6,464	US Umoren, Saviour A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Polymers	Rank 49
33	7,161	GJ Gascon, Jorge	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 120
34	7,636	AF Al-Sulaiman, F. A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 151
35	7,873	MI McCulloch, Iain	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 225
36	7,957	Ahmad, Bashir	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 31
37	8,085	OI Obot, Ime Bassey	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 154
38	8,280	TM Tester, Mark	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 99
39	8,867	DF Deng, Fu Guo	King Abdulaziz University	General Physics	Rank 57
40	9,778	PN Pradhan, Narayan	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Physical Chemistry	Rank 61
41	10,104	EM Ezzat, Magdy A.	Al Qassim University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 95
42	10,129	UA Umar, Ahmad	Najran University	Materials	Rank 174
43	10,198	AP Ahmad, Parvaiz	King Saud University	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 125
44	10,493	AA Al-Ghamdi, A. A.	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Physics	Rank 226
45	11,473	HM Hossain, M. Shamim	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 117
46	11,938	SJ Santamarina, J. Carlos	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 96
47	12,185	AH Ali, Hafiz Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 113
48	12,287	MS Mahmoud, S. R.	King Abdulaziz University	Civil Engineering	Rank 38
49	12,332	Rue, Håvard	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 92
50	13,306	AM Ahamed, Maqusood	King Saud University	Toxicology	Rank 61
51	13,460	AN Abu-Hamdeh, Nidal H.	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 132
52	13,624	MG Muhammad, Ghulam	King Saud University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 415
53	13,670	YB Yilbas, Bekir S.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 140
54	14,074	OM Osman, Mohamed S.	Umm Al Qura University	Optics	Rank 79
55	14,250	MO Mohammed, Omar F.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 392
56	14,588	SM Sayyed, M. I.	University of Tabuk	Applied Physics	Rank 311
57	14,734	AT Alkhalifah, Tariq	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 279
58	14,961	SM Sajid, Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 76
59	15,135	Hamdaoui, Oualid	King Saud University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 92
60	15,140	AH Alshareef, Husam N.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Applied Physics	Rank 322
61	15,656	RS Rehman, Shafiqur	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 291
62	15,663	KM Khan, Muhammad Khurram	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 167
63	16,043	SZ Sen, Zekâi	King Abdulaziz University	Environmental Engineering	Rank 85
64	16,210	Omri, Anis	Al Qassim University	Energy	Rank 304
65	16,761	BI Badruddin, Irfan Anjum	King Khalid University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 170
66	17,252	BO Bakr, Osman M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 468
67	17,652	GM Genton, Marc G.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 114
68	18,989	AF Alkuraya, Fowzan S.	King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 54
69	19,057	MM Mahmoud, Magdi S.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 216
70	19,072	DA Daly, Ann K.	University of Newcastle	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 85
71	19,520	QM Quraishi, M. A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 395
72	19,969	MS Messaoudi, Salim A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Applied Mathematics	Rank 68
73	20,083	EA Elaiw, A. M.	King Abdulaziz University	Numerical & Computational Mathematics	Rank 39
74	20,481	SO Shekhah, Osama	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 567
75	21,406	CL Cavallo, Luigi	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 360
76	22,015	AJ Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.	Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare	Microbiology	Rank 467
77	22,037	SE Sherif, El Sayed M.	King Saud University	Energy	Rank 447
78	22,305	RM Rahman, Mohammed M.	King Abdulaziz University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 104
79	22,382	SA Sahin, A. Z.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 452
80	22,433	LZ Lai, Zhiping	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 126
81	23,095	AT Anthopoulos, Thomas D.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 644
82	23,460	VM Valipour, Mohammad	King Abdulaziz University	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 130
83	23,939	TS Thoroddsen, Sigurdur T.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 213
84	24,039	IH Idriss, H.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Physical Chemistry	Rank 138
85	24,060	Kamal, Muhammad Shahzad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 487
86	24,249	CS Chen, Sheng	King Abdulaziz University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 246
87	24,642	PI Pinnau, Ingo	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 148
88	24,994	HN Hadjichristidis, N.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Polymers	Rank 222
89	25,210	MA Manchon, Aurelien	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Applied Physics	Rank 549
90	25,286	GN Ghaffour, Noreddine	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 151
91	25,505	CR Carle, Reinhold	King Abdulaziz University	Food Science	Rank 134
92	26,446	SJ Shamma, Jeff	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 303
93	26,547	HY Han, Yu	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 750
94	26,565	NS Nunes, Suzana P.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 160
95	28,703	AF Alsaadi, Fuad E.	King Abdulaziz University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 779
96	28,898	AY Arabi, Yaseen M.	King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences	Emergency & Critical Care Medicine	Rank 87
97	29,430	SF Santos, Filipe	INSEAD	Business & Management	Rank 666
98	29,727	YH Youssef, Hamdy M.	Umm Al Qura University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 297
99	29,732	KW Khan, Waqar Ahmed	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 298
100	30,488	BA Baykal, A.	Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal university	Materials	Rank 567
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You are seeing the first 100. 457 more are on the 2020 single-year list.

Ranks 101 to 557The whole list, not only the top 100.

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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2020

Greece666 scientistsin 2020

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Portugal552 scientistsin 2020

Egypt397 scientistsin 2020

Malaysia387 scientistsin 2020

Explore other countries

Single-year list2020

Israel1,290 scientistsin 2020

Turkey857 scientistsin 2020

United Arab Emirates178 scientistsin 2020

Qatar129 scientistsin 2020

Jordan66 scientistsin 2020

Cyprus64 scientistsin 2020

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Saudi Arabia are in the 2020 Stanford Top 2% list?

557 scientists affiliated with Saudi Arabia are on the 2020 single-year list, and 321 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2020 single-year list, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has the most listed scientists from Saudi Arabia, with 99. It is followed by King Saud University with 93.

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.