Saudi Arabia's Top 2% Scientists 2026: Career-Long List

Saudi Arabia has 1,071 scientists on the 2026 career-long Top 2% list, up 26.0% from 850 in 2025. That places Saudi Arabia 32nd in the world by number of listed scientists, up 2 places. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has the most listed scientists (164), followed by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (130).

Single Year

2,686

+576 (+27.3%) vs 2025

Career Data

1,071

+221 (+26.0%) vs 2025

World rank by count

#32

up 2 places vs 2025

Institutes

102

+3 (+3.0%) vs 2025

Scientists in Saudi Arabia on the list, by year

The career-long count has more than tripled 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%

2026+26.0%

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

Career-long list2026

Show the list

1King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals164
2King Abdullah University of Science and Technology130
3King Saud University107
4King Abdulaziz University55
5College of Sciences41
6King Khalid University36
7King Faisal University33
8Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University31
9Prince Sultan University26
10Qassim University26

All 1,071 scientists

Career-long list2026

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

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	222	SJ Schmidhuber, Jürgen U.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 10
2	305	DC Duarte, C. M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 1
3	854	AM Andreae, Meinrat O.	King Saud University	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 5
4	918	ST Saleh, Tawfik A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Physics	Rank 26
5	1,611	NM Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja	Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 49
6	1,972	KA Katritzky, Alan Roy	Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 52
7	2,492	AM Alouini, Mohamed Slim	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 17
8	3,293	Asiri, Abdullah M.	King Abdulaziz University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 82
9	3,520	DY Dwivedi, Yogesh K.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Information Systems	Rank 5
10	4,121	AM Al Memish, Ziad Ahmed	Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia	Microbiology	Rank 87
11	4,442	MP Magistretti, Pierre J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 372
12	4,837	AM Abido, Mohammad A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 57
13	5,037	CT Chan, Tony Fan Cheong	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 135
14	5,758	AZ ALOthman, Zeid A.	King Saud University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 24
15	6,565	A( Abdeljawad (Maraaba) T., Thabet	Prince Sultan University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 21
16	7,793	NM Naushad, Mu	College of Sciences	Chemical Engineering	Rank 28
17	8,269	GJ Gascón, Jorge	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 170
18	8,767	CJ Chaires, Jonathan Brad	University of Ha'il	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 378
19	8,979	YJ Ying, Jackie Y.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Materials	Rank 108
20	9,109	AH Ali, Hafiz Muhammad	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 106
21	9,310	SA Subasi, Abdulhamit	Effat University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 219
22	9,323	MS Mousa, Shaker A.	Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 446
23	9,830	MF Maestre, Fernando T.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Ecology	Rank 193
24	10,508	TM Tester, Mark A.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 100
25	11,380	Galanakis, Charis M.	Taif University	Food Science	Rank 50
26	11,611	HN Hadjichristidis, Nikos	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Polymers	Rank 89
27	11,698	AB AHMAD, Bashir N.	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 32
28	12,004	SP Schmid, Peter J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 79
29	12,112	EM Eddaoudi, M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 205
30	12,380	UA Umar, Ahmad S.	Najran University	Applied Physics	Rank 292
31	12,521	HM Hossain, M. Shamim	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 101
32	13,194	BM Barakat, M. A.	King Abdulaziz University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 48
33	13,413	CL Cavallo, Luigi	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 284
34	13,643	RM Rueping, Magnus A.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 291
35	14,020	HH Hirt, Heribert	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 140
36	14,058	RS R Seadawy, Aly Ramadan	Taibah University	General Physics	Rank 84
37	15,950	OI Obot, Ime Bassey	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Chemical Physics	Rank 353
38	15,952	YB Yilbas, Bekir Sami	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 104
39	16,677	AN Akbar, Noreen Sher	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 107
40	16,697	MM Mahmoud, Magdi S.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 126
41	17,268	YZ Yaseen, Zaher Mundher	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Environmental Engineering	Rank 59
42	17,404	WY Wada, Yoshihide	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 231
43	17,559	AT Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 278
44	18,438	Shahid, Shamsuddin	National Center for Meteorology	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 244
45	18,446	US Umoren, Saviour Alphonsus	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Polymers	Rank 145
46	18,822	AM Al-Qattan, Mohammad Manna	King Saud University	Orthopedics	Rank 109
47	19,073	KM Khan, Muhammad Ijaz	Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 127
48	19,648	Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy	Umm Al-Qura University	Food Science	Rank 82
49	20,350	MG Muhammad, Ghulam	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 166
50	21,258	SC Santamarina, Carlos J.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Geological & Geomatics Engineering	Rank 97
51	21,562	XJ Xu, Jinchao	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Numerical & Computational Mathematics	Rank 26
52	21,841	SG Stegeman, George I.A.	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Optics	Rank 93
53	22,447	RS Rehman, S. Ur	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 269
54	22,504	VM Visbeck, Martin	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 310
55	23,066	AT Anthopoulos, Thomas D.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 353
56	23,207	Saba, Tanzila	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 538
57	23,290	AA Alsaedi, Ahmed J.	King Abdulaziz University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 155
58	23,423	AY Arabi, Yaseen M.	National Guard Health Affairs	Emergency & Critical Care Medicine	Rank 75
59	23,508	KM Khan, Muhammad Khurram	King Saud University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 206
60	24,094	TL Tedersoo, Leho	College of Sciences	Microbiology	Rank 606
61	24,157	AF Al-Sulaiman, Fahad Abdulaziz	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Energy	Rank 295
62	24,548	RW Roberts, William Lafayette	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Energy	Rank 297
63	25,534	RG Ramadori, Giuliano Pasquale	King Fahd Medical Research Center	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 390
64	25,740	NS Nunes, Suzana P.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 104
65	26,267	AM Ahamed, Maqusood Basheer	King Saud University	Toxicology	Rank 108
66	26,573	IM Iqbal, Munawar Javed	University of Tabuk	Materials	Rank 335
67	26,624	AM Abdel-Daim, Mohamed M.	Batterjee Medical College	Environmental Sciences	Rank 183
68	26,645	Rue, Håvard	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 124
69	26,794	RM Rahman, Mohammed Muzibur	King Abdulaziz University	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 155
70	27,265	Omri, Anis	Qassim University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 187
71	27,386	Hamdaoui, Oualid	King Saud University	Chemical Engineering	Rank 111
72	27,610	AA Azar, Ahmad Taher	Prince Sultan University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 645
73	27,976	RM Rahman, Md Saıfur	Najran University	Energy	Rank 350
74	29,152	AN Abu-Hamdeh, Nidal H.	King Abdulaziz University	Energy	Rank 371
75	29,191	KI Khan, Ilyas	Majmaah University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 188
76	29,409	AF Alkuraya., Fowzan S.	King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 152
77	30,303	RT Rasheed, Tahir	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Environmental Sciences	Rank 210
78	30,385	WP Wang, Peng	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 436
79	30,574	MO Mohammed, Omar F.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 438
80	32,956	EK Elwakeel, Khalid Z.	University of Jeddah	Chemical Engineering	Rank 132
81	33,003	HH Hattori, Hideshi	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Physical Chemistry	Rank 116
82	33,806	SE Sherif, El Sayed M.	King Saud University	Energy	Rank 444
83	33,815	AA Al-Ghamdi̇, Ahmed A.	King Abdulaziz University	Applied Physics	Rank 788
84	34,235	TI Tlili, Iskander	Islamic University of Madinah	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 225
85	34,630	AH Alshareef, Husam N.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 481
86	34,794	BA Bahammam, Ahmed Salem O.	King Saud University	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 2,465
87	35,454	SB Samet, B.	College of Sciences	General Mathematics	Rank 130
88	36,938	GM Genton, Marc G.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Statistics & Probability	Rank 163
89	37,210	MS Meo, Sultan Ayoub	College of Medicine	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 506
90	37,683	YI Young, Iain M.	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 170
91	37,854	MR Mohamed, R. M.	King Abdulaziz University	Materials	Rank 506
92	38,043	AE Abu El Asrar, Ahmed M.	College of Medicine	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 221
93	38,651	TK Tabbara, Khalid F.	The Eye Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 232
94	39,594	PT Patzek, Tadeusz Wiktor	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Energy	Rank 518
95	39,608	CC Chen, Chenyuan	King Abdulaziz University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 915
96	40,373	GT Gojobori, Takashi	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Developmental Biology	Rank 1,354
97	40,563	EA Emwas, Abdul-Hamid Hamid Mohammad	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Organic Chemistry	Rank 757
98	40,897	IA Irfan, Ahmad	King Khalid University	Chemical Physics	Rank 825
99	42,042	LZ Lai, Zhiping	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 176
100	42,153	Nisar, Kottakkaran Sooppy	Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University	Applied Mathematics	Rank 99
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You are seeing the first 100. 971 more are on the 2026 career-long list.

Ranks 101 to 1,071The 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 list2026

New Zealand1,224 scientists

Singapore1,154 scientists

Russia1,133 scientists

Ireland963 scientists

South Africa963 scientists

Portugal787 scientists

Explore other countries

Career-long list2026

Israel2,293 scientists

Turkey1,479 scientists

United Arab Emirates470 scientists

Qatar197 scientists

Jordan128 scientists

Cyprus119 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 career-long list, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has the most listed scientists from Saudi Arabia, with 164. It is followed by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology with 130.

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 1,071 in 2026, a change of +233.6%.

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.