Saudi Arabia's Top 2% Scientists 2023: Career-Long List

Saudi Arabia has 576 scientists on the 2023 career-long Top 2% list, up 23.6% from 466 in 2022. That places Saudi Arabia 34th in the world by number of listed scientists, up 1 place. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has the most listed scientists (101), followed by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (95).

Single Year

1,321

+300 (+29.4%) vs 2022

Career Data

576

+110 (+23.6%) vs 2022

World rank by count

#34

up 1 place vs 2022

Institutes

+4 (+7.3%) vs 2022

Scientists in Saudi Arabia on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 79% since 2020.

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+38.0%

2022+5.2%

2023+23.6%

2024+17.4%

2025+25.7%

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

Career-long list2023

Show the list

1King Abdullah University of Science and Technology101
2King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals95
3King Abdulaziz University66
4King Saud University58
5College of Sciences27
6College of Pharmacy22
7King Khalid University15
8Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University13
9Prince Sultan University13
10Taif University13

All 576 scientists

Career-long list2023

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	122	DA Demirbas, Ayhan	King Abdulaziz University	Energy	Rank 1
2	331	GV Gupta, Vinod Kumar	King Abdulaziz University	Chemical Physics	Rank 13
3	398	SJ Schmidhuber, Jürgen	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 10
4	456	DC Duarte, Carlos M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 1
5	712	HB Henrissat, Bernard	King Abdulaziz University	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 45
6	1,398	KH Koenig, Harold G.	King Abdulaziz University	Psychiatry	Rank 45
7	2,579	ST Saleh, Tawfik A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Engineering	Rank 8
8	2,993	SA Sari, Ahmet	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 33
9	3,462	BA Biswas, Anjan	King Abdulaziz University	Optics	Rank 12
10	3,565	AM Alouini, Mohamed Slim	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 23
11	4,282	CT Chan, Tony F.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 96
12	4,440	MP Magistretti, Pierre	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 402
13	4,973	Asiri, Abdullah M.	King Abdulaziz University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 118
14	5,289	BD Bradley, Donal D.C.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Applied Physics	Rank 147
15	5,728	AM Abido, Mohammad A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 59
16	8,923	AE Aifantis, Elias C.	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 57
17	9,830	AG Amy, Gary	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Environmental Engineering	Rank 24
18	10,654	HN Hadjichristidis, Nikos	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Polymers	Rank 86
19	10,658	AZ ALOthman, Zeid A.	College of Sciences	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 53
20	10,879	TM Tester, Mark	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 98
21	13,311	EM Eddaoudi, Mohamed	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	General Chemistry	Rank 75
22	13,521	GJ Gascon, Jorge	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 299
23	13,611	RM Rueping, Magnus	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 301
24	14,296	NM Naushad, Mu	College of Sciences	Chemical Engineering	Rank 51
25	14,633	ŞZ Şen, Zekâi	King Abdulaziz University	Environmental Engineering	Rank 46
26	14,656	BY Bando, Yoshio	College of Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 178
27	14,926	HH Hirt, Heribert	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 145
28	15,284	Ahmad, Bashir	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 35
29	15,292	QM Quraishi, M. A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 146
30	15,313	AT Abdeljawad, Thabet	Prince Sultan University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 36
31	15,957	CL Cavallo, Luigi	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 349
32	16,248	MM Mahmoud, Magdi S.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 111
33	16,906	YB Yilbas, Bekir Sami	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 102
34	17,164	TA Tounsi, Abdelouahed	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Civil Engineering	Rank 21
35	17,607	SG Stegeman, George I.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Optoelectronics & Photonics	Rank 48
36	19,075	BM Barakat, M. A.	King Abdulaziz University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 71
37	19,484	SP Schmid, Peter	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 140
38	19,824	HP Hall, Peter	King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre	Pathology	Rank 67
39	20,375	MW Mahmoud, Waleed E.	King Abdulaziz University	Materials	Rank 245
40	21,315	AM Al-Qattan, Mohammad	College of Medicine	Orthopedics	Rank 141
41	21,503	CA Crozier, Alan	King Saud University	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 232
42	24,422	US Umoren, Saviour A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Polymers	Rank 213
43	24,448	AJ Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.	Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare	Microbiology	Rank 612
44	26,005	AH Ali, Hafiz Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 280
45	26,040	HM Hossain, M. Shamim	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 211
46	26,356	OI Obot, I. B.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Physics	Rank 595
47	26,974	AT Alkhalifah, Tariq A.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 446
48	27,368	AT Anthopoulos, Thomas D.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 310
49	28,198	RW Roberts, William L.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Energy	Rank 301
50	28,212	Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy	Umm Al-Qura University	Food Science	Rank 110
51	28,724	AY Arabi, Yaseen	King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences	Emergency & Critical Care Medicine	Rank 94
52	28,766	CL Carin, Lawrence	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 575
53	29,366	HH Hattori, Hideshi	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Physical Chemistry	Rank 105
54	29,545	SJ Santamarina, J. Carlos	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 122
55	30,258	AA Alsaedi, Ahmed	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 178
56	31,273	SA Seadawy, Aly R.	Taibah University	General Physics	Rank 181
57	32,690	Hamdaoui, Oualid	King Saud University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 121
58	33,132	RS Rehman, S.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 368
59	33,883	Rue, Håvard	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 148
60	33,909	NS Nunes, Suzana P.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 123
61	34,781	KM Khan, Muhammad Khurram	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 284
62	34,898	TK Tabbara, Khaled	College of Medicine	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 200
63	35,462	AF Al-Sulaiman, Fahad A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 392
64	35,618	GT Gojobori, Takashi	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,285
65	36,536	WY Wada, Yoshihide	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 533
66	36,867	AF Alkuraya, Fowzan S.	King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 206
67	37,184	CS Chen, Sheng	King Abdulaziz University	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 283
68	37,226	AM Ahamed, Maqusood	King Saud University	Toxicology	Rank 148
69	38,848	PH Pottmann, Helmut	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Software Engineering	Rank 72
70	38,994	GM Genton, Marc G.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 162
71	39,082	BA Beynen, A. C.	King Saud University	Dairy & Animal Science	Rank 69
72	39,345	AE Abu El-Asrar, Ahmed M.	College of Medicine	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 237
73	40,035	PT Patzek, Tadeusz W.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Energy	Rank 444
74	40,091	EM Ezzat, Magdy A.	Al Qassim University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 238
75	40,579	SB Samet, Bessem	College of Sciences	General Mathematics	Rank 144
76	42,538	TW Thurston, William P.	King Abdulaziz University	General Mathematics	Rank 151
77	43,749	SE Sherif, El Sayed M.	King Saud University	Energy	Rank 502
78	43,809	AN Abu-Hamdeh, Nidal H.	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 264
79	45,081	KK Koumoto, Kunihito	King Abdulaziz University	Materials	Rank 559
80	45,608	PI Pinnau, Ingo	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 166
81	46,171	AH Alshareef, Husam N.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 473
82	47,025	MO Mohammed, Omar F.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 483
83	47,464	AG Al Ghamdi, Ahmed	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Physics	Rank 1,237
84	47,780	MG Muhammad, Ghulam	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 392
85	48,942	TS Thoroddsen, Sigurdur T.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 422
86	49,643	AM Amin, Mohammed A.	Taif University	Energy	Rank 582
87	49,648	AA Azar, Ahmad Taher	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 965
88	53,498	AM Ali, Mohamed	King Saud University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 333
89	54,046	GL Gissmann, Lutz	King Saud University	Virology	Rank 414
90	54,707	AA Aziz, Abdul	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 341
91	55,356	BA Baykal, A.	Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University	Materials	Rank 706
92	55,522	FW Fischle, Wolfgang	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,816
93	55,668	CS Chung, Suk Ho	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Energy	Rank 660
94	56,146	BA BaHammam, Ahmed	College of Medicine	Respiratory System	Rank 568
95	57,420	MR Mohamed, Reda M.	King Abdulaziz University	Materials	Rank 733
96	57,981	DJ Dvorkin, Jack P.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 993
97	58,678	SN Shahzad, Naseer	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 121
98	59,725	KN Kumar, Neeraj	King Abdulaziz University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 514
99	60,405	CC Chen, Cheng Wu	King Abdulaziz University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,150
100	61,263	RM Rahman, Mohammed M.	King Abdulaziz University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 413
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You are seeing the first 100. 476 more are on the 2023 career-long list.

Ranks 101 to 576The whole list, not only the top 100.

Every year since 2020Single Year and Career Data.

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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2023

Iran871 scientistsin 2023

South Africa775 scientistsin 2023

Ireland769 scientistsin 2023

Portugal572 scientistsin 2023

Czech Republic513 scientistsin 2023

Egypt416 scientistsin 2023

Explore other countries

Career-long list2023

Israel2,037 scientistsin 2023

Turkey1,040 scientistsin 2023

United Arab Emirates262 scientistsin 2023

Qatar124 scientistsin 2023

Cyprus81 scientistsin 2023

Kuwait71 scientistsin 2023

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Frequently asked questions

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

1,321 scientists affiliated with Saudi Arabia are on the 2023 single-year list, and 576 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2023 career-long list, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has the most listed scientists from Saudi Arabia, with 101. It is followed by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals with 95.

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

On the career-long list, Saudi Arabia went from 321 scientists in 2020 to 576 in 2023, a change of +79.4%.

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.