Sri Lanka's Top 2% Scientists 2025: Career-Long List
Sri Lanka has 33 scientists on the 2025 career-long Top 2% list, up 32.0% from 25 in 2024. That places Sri Lanka 78th in the world by number of listed scientists. National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka has the most listed scientists (6), followed by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo (5).
Scientists in Sri Lanka on the list, by year
The career-long count has more than doubled since 2020.
Show the numbers
| Year | Single Year | Change | Career Data | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 15 | 15 | ||
| 2021 | 24 | +60.0% | 18 | +20.0% |
| 2022 | 32 | +33.3% | 21 | +16.7% |
| 2023 | 42 | +31.2% | 24 | +14.3% |
| 2024 | 43 | +2.4% | 25 | +4.2% |
| 2025 | 53 | +23.3% | 33 | +32.0% |
Top 10 institutes in Sri Lanka
By number of listed scientists
Show the list
- 1National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka6
- 2International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo5
- 3University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine3
- 4University of Kelaniya3
- 5University of Peradeniya3
- 6Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology2
- 7University of Jaffna2
- 8Arthur C Clark Institution for Modern Technologies1
- 9Faculty of Medicine1
- 10Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya1
All 33 scientists
| Rank in Sri Lanka | World rank | Scientist | Institute | Sub-field | Rank in sub-field |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42,611 | International Food Policy Research Institute | Agricultural Economics & Policy | Rank 37 | |
| 2 | 58,993 | National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka | Applied Physics | Rank 1,451 | |
| 3 | 65,266 | Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology | Mechanical Engineering & Transports | Rank 435 | |
| 4 | 74,474 | University of Peradeniya | Energy | Rank 1,014 | |
| 5 | 74,892 | International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo | Environmental Engineering | Rank 320 | |
| 6 | 90,097 | University of Sri Jayewardenepura | Environmental Sciences | Rank 669 | |
| 7 | 112,017 | Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND) | Energy | Rank 1,587 | |
| 8 | 124,793 | University of Colombo | Tropical Medicine | Rank 267 | |
| 9 | 132,778 | University of Kelaniya | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 1,659 | |
| 10 | 137,303 | National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 1,718 | |
| 11 | 138,198 | International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo | Environmental Engineering | Rank 689 | |
| 12 | 141,423 | University of Peradeniya | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 1,764 | |
| 13 | 142,462 | National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka | Environmental Sciences | Rank 1,139 | |
| 14 | 148,477 |
VD
|
International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo | Environmental Engineering | Rank 756 |
| 15 | 151,445 | University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine | Tropical Medicine | Rank 343 | |
| 16 | 178,436 | National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka | Energy | Rank 2,696 | |
| 17 | 183,176 | University of Kelaniya | Tropical Medicine | Rank 415 | |
| 18 | 198,919 | University of Jaffna | Tropical Medicine | Rank 458 | |
| 19 | 227,045 | University of Peradeniya | Networking & Telecommunications | Rank 2,244 | |
| 20 | 228,820 | Faculty of Medicine | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 2,961 | |
| 21 | 234,644 | National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka | Agronomy & Agriculture | Rank 1,396 | |
| 22 | 241,875 |
DP
|
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology | Building & Construction | Rank 746 |
| 23 | 242,640 | Wayamba University of Sri Lanka | Food Science | Rank 1,508 | |
| 24 | 245,060 | General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 3,196 | |
| 25 | 248,882 | International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo | Agronomy & Agriculture | Rank 1,486 | |
| 26 | 262,366 | University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine | Tropical Medicine | Rank 606 | |
| 27 | 275,307 | International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo | Environmental Sciences | Rank 2,534 | |
| 28 | 283,665 | University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 3,724 | |
| 29 | 408,299 | University of Jaffna | Building & Construction | Rank 1,402 | |
| 30 | 414,879 | National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka | Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry | Rank 2,115 | |
| 31 | 466,169 | Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 6,306 | |
| 32 | 508,301 | University of Kelaniya | General & Internal Medicine | Rank 6,932 | |
| 33 | 580,509 | Arthur C Clark Institution for Modern Technologies | Electrical & Electronic Engineering | Rank 2,324 | |
| No scientists match this filter. | |||||
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Frequently asked questions
How many scientists from Sri Lanka are in the 2025 Stanford Top 2% list?
53 scientists affiliated with Sri Lanka are on the 2025 single-year list, and 33 are on the career-long list.
Which institute in Sri Lanka has the most Top 2% scientists?
On the 2025 career-long list, National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka has the most listed scientists from Sri Lanka, with 6. It is followed by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Colombo with 5.
How has the number of Top 2% scientists in Sri Lanka changed since 2020?
On the career-long list, Sri Lanka went from 15 scientists in 2020 to 33 in 2025, a change of +120.0%.
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.