Switzerland's Top 2% Scientists 2026

Switzerland has 3,595 scientists on the 2026 single-year Top 2% list, up 1.3% from 3,549 in 2025. That places Switzerland 14th in the world by number of listed scientists. ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists (545), followed by Universität Zürich (316).

Single Year

3,595

+46 (+1.3%) vs 2025

Career Data

3,759

+100 (+2.7%) vs 2025

World rank by count

#14

No change vs 2025

Institutes

473

+16 (+3.5%) vs 2025

Scientists in Switzerland on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 37% since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+15.0%

2022+7.2%

2023+2.4%

2024+2.8%

2025+4.3%

2026+1.3%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	2,622		2,546
2021	3,016	+15.0%	2,974	+16.8%
2022	3,233	+7.2%	3,141	+5.6%
2023	3,311	+2.4%	3,261	+3.8%
2024	3,404	+2.8%	3,431	+5.2%
2025	3,549	+4.3%	3,659	+6.6%
2026	3,595	+1.3%	3,759	+2.7%

Top 10 institutes in Switzerland

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2026

Show the list

1ETH Zürich545
2Universität Zürich316
3École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne250
4Université de Genève174
5University of Bern163
6Universität Basel151
7Organisation Mondiale de la Santé122
8Université de Lausanne (UNIL)101
9University Hospital Bern97
10Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois95

All 3,595 scientists

Single-year list2026

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

The first 100 are free to browse.

Export CSV

Rank in Switzerland	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	67	GM Grätzel, Michael	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 4
2	78	HD Hanahan, Douglas A.	Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 3
3	134	SK Scrivener, Karen Louise	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Building & Construction	Rank 2
4	193	PJ Provis, John Lloyd	Paul Scherrer Institut	Building & Construction	Rank 3
5	407	KC Kor̈ner, Christian	Universität Basel	Ecology	Rank 9
6	452	SM Siegrist, Michael	ETH Zürich	Food Science	Rank 6
7	523	Bibri, Simon Elias	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 36
8	781	LB Lothenbach, Barbara	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Building & Construction	Rank 9
9	802	HD Helbing, Dirk	ETH Zürich	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 6
10	817	AC Akdiş, Cezmi A. A.	Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research	Allergy	Rank 1
11	882	SG Salanti, Georgia	Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 29
12	1,061	MS McLennan, Scott M.	ETH Zürich	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 4
13	1,071	SD Scaramuzza, Davide	Universität Zürich	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 8
14	1,153	GN Gisin, Nicolas	Université de Genève	General Physics	Rank 11
15	1,167	SN Spaldin, Nicola A.	ETH Zürich	Applied Physics	Rank 27
16	1,316	DB Delley, Bernard T.	Paul Scherrer Institut	Applied Physics	Rank 29
17	1,352	WM Weller, Michael	Universitätsspital Zürich, Klinik für Neurologie	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 23
18	1,374	SS Seneviratne, Sonia I.	Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 17
19	1,410	VG Von Gunten, Urs	Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology	Environmental Engineering	Rank 7
20	1,458	HE Hargittai, Eszter	Universität Zürich	Communication & Media Studies	Rank 5
21	1,528	GN Gruber, Nicolas	ETH Zürich	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 22
22	1,639	FE Fehr, Ernst	Universität Zürich	Economics	Rank 38
23	1,678	VD van der Heijden, Marcel G.A.	Universität Zürich	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 10
24	1,892	BP Bûhlmann, Peter	ETH Zürich	Statistics & Probability	Rank 29
25	1,928	ZC Zipfel, Cyril	Universität Zürich	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 23
26	1,949	Szabo, Csaba S.	University of Fribourg	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 11
27	1,950	ZA Züttel, Andreas	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Materials	Rank 38
28	1,971	KR Knùtti, Reto	Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 31
29	2,089	KM Kovalenko, Maksym V.	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 69
30	2,117	SJ Six, Johan W.	ETH Zürich	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 15
31	2,223	PJ Pérez-Ramírez, Javier	NCCR Catalysis	Organic Chemistry	Rank 20
32	2,319	SG Schneider, Gisbert	ETH Zürich	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 10
33	2,335	KH Kriesi, Hanspeter	Universität Zürich	Political Science & Public Administration	Rank 17
34	2,535	CM Cesari, Matteo	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Geriatrics	Rank 5
35	2,653	RR Rizzoli, René R.	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 40
36	2,779	KJ Kirchner, James W.	ETH Zürich	Environmental Engineering	Rank 12
37	2,793	BJ Billieux, Joël	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Psychiatry	Rank 62
38	2,845	AJ Auwerx, Johan H.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Developmental Biology	Rank 73
39	2,941	HG Habert, Guillaume	ETH Zürich	Building & Construction	Rank 24
40	2,989	OK Oberauer, Klaus	Universität Zürich	Experimental Psychology	Rank 48
41	3,002	KJ Kolar, Johann Walter	ETH Zürich	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 8
42	3,037	CP Clavien, Pierre Alain	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Surgery	Rank 1
43	3,045	DD Damjanovic, Dragan	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 70
44	3,084	JJ Joyce, Johanna A.	Agora Cancer Research Centre Lausanne	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 64
45	3,100	OU Orth, Ulrich	University of Bern	Social Psychology	Rank 100
46	3,114	MN Marzari, Nicola	Paul Scherrer Institut	Applied Physics	Rank 72
47	3,140	SK Scherer, Klaus R.	Université de Genève	Social Psychology	Rank 103
48	3,147	HA Hirschi, Andreas	University of Bern	Business & Management	Rank 102
49	3,240	NB Nowack, Bernd	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Environmental Sciences	Rank 79
50	3,329	BJ Bascompte, Jordi	Universität Zürich	Ecology	Rank 96
51	3,378	DO de Oniś, Mercedes	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 15
52	3,582	LT Lüscher, Thomas Felix	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 101
53	3,622	VJ Vorholt, Julia A.	ETH Zürich	Microbiology	Rank 51
54	3,719	ML Mondada, Lorenza	Universität Basel	Languages & Linguistics	Rank 28
55	3,737	DF Dörfler, Florian	ETH Zürich	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 45
56	3,796	CW Curtin, W. A.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Materials	Rank 70
57	3,860	SB Sudret, Bruno	ETH Zürich	Civil Engineering	Rank 13
58	3,872	SB Smit, Berend	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Chemical Physics	Rank 71
59	3,888	PN Patrice, Nordmann L.	University of Fribourg	Microbiology	Rank 58
60	3,900	MN Meinshausen, Nicolai F.	ETH Zürich	Statistics & Probability	Rank 37
61	3,902	UM Unser, Michael A.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 210
62	4,152	IA Ijspeert, A. J.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 49
63	4,161	FR Finger, Robert	ETH Zürich	Agricultural Economics & Policy	Rank 6
64	4,164	BM Burnier, Michel	Faculté de biologie et de médecine	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 122
65	4,186	CS Claessens, Stijn	Bank for International Settlements	Economics	Rank 88
66	4,248	LN Lang, Niklaus Peter	University Hospital Bern	Dentistry	Rank 9
67	4,299	FR Flatt, Robert Johann	ETH Zürich	Building & Construction	Rank 34
68	4,404	FB Frey, Bruno S.	Universität Basel	Economics	Rank 93
69	4,435	BP Broz, Petr	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 85
70	4,458	WO Wenger, Oliver S.	Universität Basel	General Chemistry	Rank 19
71	4,495	HX Hu, Xile	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Organic Chemistry	Rank 59
72	4,548	LU Laemmli, Ulrich K.	Université de Genève	Developmental Biology	Rank 113
73	4,555	BF Bull, Fiona C.	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Public Health	Rank 47
74	4,728	RG Rogler, Gerhard	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 61
75	4,750	TW Tress, Wolfgang R.	ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 161
76	4,785	NB Nelson, Bradley J.	ETH Zürich	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 54
77	4,823	MC Mathers, Colin	MM Global Health Consulting	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 101
78	4,834	BA Bairoch, Amos	SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics	Developmental Biology	Rank 117
79	4,884	GA Guisan, Antoine A.	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Ecology	Rank 133
80	4,929	MJ Markard, Jochen	ETH Zürich	Science Studies	Rank 10
81	5,066	EJ Ellis, John R.	Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 54
82	5,128	WM Wild, Martin	Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 88
83	5,188	RM Robinson, Mark D.	Universität Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 127
84	5,242	EL Excoffier, Laurent	University of Bern	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 40
85	5,324	NL Novotný, Lukas	ETH Zürich	Optics	Rank 21
86	5,340	RR Renner, Renato	ETH Zürich	General Physics	Rank 49
87	5,382	MM Maggiore, Michele	Gravitational Wave Science Center	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 60
88	5,448	MR Miron, Richard J.	University of Bern, Faculty of Medicine	Dentistry	Rank 12
89	5,585	KT Kippenberg, T. J.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Optics	Rank 25
90	5,634	SF Schimmelfennig, Frank	ETH Zürich	Political Science & Public Administration	Rank 43
91	5,688	SN Sartorius, Norman	Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes	Psychiatry	Rank 131
92	5,689	AF Altermatt, Florian	Universität Zürich	Ecology	Rank 157
93	5,700	BJ Bosch, Jaime M.	University Hospital Bern	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 70
94	5,773	Antonakis, John	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Business & Management	Rank 172
95	5,970	ÖM Özcan, Mutlu	Universität Zürich	Dentistry	Rank 16
96	5,985	PS Peters, Solange	Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 164
97	6,003	FG Frisoni, Giovanni B.	Université de Genève	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 292
98	6,020	JM Jaggi, Martin	Machine Learning and Optimization Lab	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 327
99	6,126	RJ Reymond, Jean Louis	University of Bern	Organic Chemistry	Rank 77
100	6,160	WS Wagner, Stephan M.	ETH Zürich	Business & Management	Rank 188
No scientists match this filter on the single-year list. Try the career-long list

Showing 1 to 100 of the first 100 Show

Paid plans

See all 3,595 scientists in Switzerland

You are seeing the first 100. 3,495 more are on the 2026 single-year list.

Ranks 101 to 3,595The whole list, not only the top 100.

Every year since 2020Single Year and Career Data.

Search the full listBy name, institute or sub-field.

CSV exportDownload the list for your own work.

View Plans & Upgrade Compare plans

Cancel anytime · Secure billing

Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2026

Netherlands4,888 scientists

Spain4,408 scientists

South Korea4,001 scientists

Sweden2,728 scientists

Saudi Arabia2,688 scientists

Iran2,676 scientists

Explore other countries

Single-year list2026

Germany10,939 scientists

France5,914 scientists

Belgium2,182 scientists

Austria1,502 scientists

Luxembourg98 scientists

United Kingdom18,299 scientists

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Switzerland are in the 2026 Stanford Top 2% list?

3,595 scientists affiliated with Switzerland are on the 2026 single-year list, and 3,759 are on the career-long list.

Which institute in Switzerland has the most Top 2% scientists?

On the 2026 single-year list, ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists from Switzerland, with 545. It is followed by Universität Zürich with 316.

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

On the single-year list, Switzerland went from 2,622 scientists in 2020 to 3,595 in 2026, a change of +37.1%.

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.