Saudi Arabia's Top 2% Scientists 2025: Career-Long List

Saudi Arabia has 850 scientists on the 2025 career-long Top 2% list, up 25.7% from 676 in 2024. That places Saudi Arabia 34th in the world by number of listed scientists. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has the most listed scientists (131), followed by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (117).

Single Year

2,110

+426 (+25.3%) vs 2024

Career Data

850

+174 (+25.7%) vs 2024

World rank by count

#34

No change vs 2024

Institutes

+37 (+59.7%) vs 2024

Scientists in Saudi Arabia on the list, by year

The career-long count has more than doubled 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 list2025

Show the list

1King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals131
2King Abdullah University of Science and Technology117
3King Saud University89
4King Abdulaziz University43
5College of Sciences32
6Prince Sultan University25
7College of Pharmacy24
8King Khalid University24
9Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University22
10King Faisal University22

All 850 scientists

Career-long list2025

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	271	SJ Schmidhuber, Jürgen	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 10
2	353	DC Duarte, Carlos M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 1
3	410	SL Steinberg, Laurence	King Abdulaziz University	Developmental & Child Psychology	Rank 4
4	807	AM Andreae, Meinrat O.	King Saud University	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 5
5	1,202	ST Saleh, Tawfik A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Physics	Rank 35
6	1,802	KA Katritzky, Alan Roy	Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 49
7	2,675	SM Sillanpää, Mika	King Saud University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 11
8	2,707	AM Alouini, Mohamed Slim	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 18
9	3,652	Asiri, Abdullah M.	King Abdulaziz University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 95
10	4,079	AM Al Memish, Ziad Ahmed	Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia	Microbiology	Rank 90
11	4,346	MP Magistretti, Pierre J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 372
12	4,723	CT Chan, Tony Fan Cheong	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 120
13	5,163	AM Abido, Mohammad A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 59
14	6,345	BD Bradley, Donal D.C.	NEOM Education Research and Innovation Foundation and NEOM University	Applied Physics	Rank 161
15	6,650	AZ ALOthman, Zeid A.	King Saud University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 29
16	6,655	DY Dwivedi, Yogesh K.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Information Systems	Rank 13
17	8,355	AT Abdeljawad, Thabet	Prince Sultan University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 23
18	8,533	YJ Ying, Jackie Y.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Materials	Rank 99
19	8,636	NM Naushad, Mu	College of Sciences	Chemical Engineering	Rank 31
20	9,252	GJ Gascón, Jorge	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 193
21	9,281	MS Mousa, Shaker A.	Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 443
22	10,549	TM Tester, Mark A.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 101
23	10,796	SA Subasi, Abdulhamit	Effat University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 234
24	11,285	HN Hadjichristidis, Nikos	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Polymers	Rank 87
25	11,747	AH Ali, Hafiz Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 125
26	12,191	Ahmad, Bashir	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 31
27	12,423	EM Eddaoudi, M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 197
28	13,337	Galanakis, Charis M.	Taif University	Food Science	Rank 55
29	13,562	RM Rueping, Magnus A.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 295
30	13,740	UA Umar, Ahmad S.	Najran University	Applied Physics	Rank 328
31	13,757	SP Schmid, Peter J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 95
32	13,954	CL Cavallo, Luigi	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 304
33	14,175	HH Hirt, Heribert	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 141
34	14,218	BM Barakat, M. A.	Faculty of Environmental Sciences, King Abdulaziz University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 51
35	15,230	HM Hossain, M. Shamim	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 121
36	15,699	SA Seadawy, Aly R.	Taibah University	General Physics	Rank 90
37	16,160	YB Yilbas, Bekir Sami	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 101
38	16,240	MM Mahmoud, Magdi S.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 116
39	18,092	OI Obot, Ime Bassey	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Physics	Rank 416
40	19,232	AM Al-Qattan, Mohammad Manna	King Saud University	Orthopedics	Rank 112
41	19,253	AN Akbar, Noreen Sher	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 124
42	19,300	US Umoren, Saviour Alphonsus	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Polymers	Rank 156
43	20,074	VA Vasilakos, Athanasios V.	College of Computer Science and Information Technology	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 163
44	20,084	AT Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 327
45	20,126	SG Stegeman, George I.A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Optics	Rank 89
46	20,328	AJ Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar Ali	Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare	Microbiology	Rank 505
47	21,462	Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy	Umm Al-Qura University	Food Science	Rank 87
48	22,190	WY Wada, Yoshihide	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 297
49	22,777	XJ Xu, Jinchao	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Numerical & Computational Mathematics	Rank 30
50	23,329	KM Khan, Muhammad Ijaz	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 151
51	23,486	AT Anthopoulos, Thomas D.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 330
52	23,881	SC Santamarina, Carlos J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 108
53	24,160	AA Alsaedi, Ahmed J.	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 154
54	24,921	RS Rehman, S. Ur	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 286
55	24,925	AY Arabi, Yaseen M.	College of Medicine-Riyadh	Emergency & Critical Care Medicine	Rank 83
56	25,193	MG Muhammad, Ghulam	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 212
57	25,525	AH Abdelhamid, Hani Nasser	Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 147
58	25,663	RW Roberts, William L.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Energy	Rank 295
59	25,745	YZ Yaseen, Zaher Mundher	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Environmental Engineering	Rank 88
60	25,877	KM Khan, Muhammad Khurram	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 221
61	26,729	AF Al-Sulaiman, Fahad Abdulaziz	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 318
62	27,790	Hamdaoui, Oualid	King Saud University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 110
63	28,073	Rue, Håvard	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 132
64	28,180	NS Nunes, Suzana P.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 112
65	29,844	AM Ahamed, Maqusood Basheer	King Saud University	Toxicology	Rank 113
66	30,458	AF Alkuraya., Fowzan S.	King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 167
67	31,223	HH Hattori, Hideshi	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Physical Chemistry	Rank 110
68	32,088	AN Abu-Hamdeh, Nidal H.	Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy and Power Systems	Energy	Rank 395
69	32,765	RM Rahman, Mohammed M.	King Abdulaziz University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 194
70	33,148	AM Abdel-Daim, Mohamed M.	Batterjee Medical College	Environmental Sciences	Rank 210
71	33,243	WP Wang, Peng	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 436
72	33,941	Saba, Tanzila	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 747
73	34,046	MO Mohammed, Omar F.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 444
74	34,588	Omri, Anis	Qassim University	Energy	Rank 429
75	34,636	AA Azar, Ahmad Taher	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 766
76	35,217	SE Sherif, El Sayed M.	King Saud University	Energy	Rank 442
77	35,819	KI Khan, Ilyas	Majmaah University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 225
78	36,185	AA Al-Ghamdi̇, Ahmed A.	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Physics	Rank 868
79	36,276	TK Tabbara, Khalid F.	The Eye Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 212
80	36,845	BT Boekhout, Teun	College of Sciences	Microbiology	Rank 931
81	36,914	AH Alshareef, Husam N.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 473
82	37,044	GM Genton, Marc G.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 158
83	37,084	SB Samet, B.	College of Sciences	General Mathematics	Rank 133
84	37,577	AM Amin, Mohammed A.	Taif University	Energy	Rank 477
85	37,874	YI Young, Iain M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 168
86	37,995	GT Gojobori, Takashi	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,312
87	38,111	AE Abu El Asrar, Ahmed M.	College of Medicine	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 224
88	38,739	TI Tlili, Iskander	Islamic University of Madinah	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 250
89	40,636	MR Mohamed, R. M.	King Abdulaziz University	Materials	Rank 528
90	40,797	PT Patzek, Tad Wiktor	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Energy	Rank 512
91	41,623	RT Rasheed, Tahir	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Environmental Sciences	Rank 278
92	41,672	BA Bahammam, Ahmed Salem O.	King Saud University	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 2,939
93	42,177	CC Chen, Chenyuan	King Abdulaziz University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 923
94	42,408	CR Carle, Reinhold	Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University	Food Science	Rank 191
95	42,596	PI Pinnau, Ingo	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 170
96	43,343	SM Sajid, Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 277
97	43,932	BK Beaver, Kevin Michael	King Abdulaziz University	Criminology	Rank 58
98	45,365	TS Thoroddsen, Sigurdur T.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 370
99	47,334	AM Ali, Mohamed El Sayed	King Saud University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 309
100	48,663	LZ Lai, Zhiping	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 195
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You are seeing the first 100. 750 more are on the 2025 career-long list.

Ranks 101 to 850The whole list, not only the top 100.

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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2025

Russia1,069 scientists

South Africa896 scientists

Ireland881 scientists

Portugal711 scientists

Czech Republic588 scientists

Egypt579 scientists

Explore other countries

Career-long list2025

Israel2,204 scientists

Turkey1,308 scientists

United Arab Emirates389 scientists

Qatar176 scientists

Cyprus113 scientists

Jordan106 scientists

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Saudi Arabia are in the 2025 Stanford Top 2% list?

2,110 scientists affiliated with Saudi Arabia are on the 2025 single-year list, and 850 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2025 career-long list, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has the most listed scientists from Saudi Arabia, with 131. It is followed by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology with 117.

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 850 in 2025, a change of +164.8%.

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.