Switzerland's Top 2% Scientists 2021

Switzerland has 3,016 scientists on the 2021 single-year Top 2% list, up 15.0% from 2,622 in 2020. That places Switzerland 13th in the world by number of listed scientists, down 1 place. ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists (455), followed by University of Zurich (275).

Single Year

3,016

+394 (+15.0%) vs 2020

Career Data

2,974

+428 (+16.8%) vs 2020

World rank by count

#13

down 1 place vs 2020

Institutes

314

+34 (+12.1%) vs 2020

Scientists in Switzerland on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 15% 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%

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%

Top 10 institutes in Switzerland

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2021

Show the list

1ETH Zürich455
2University of Zurich275
3Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne247
4University of Bern185
5Université de Genève173
6Universitat Basel117
7Université de Lausanne (UNIL)117
8UniversitatsSpital Zurich93
9Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève89
10Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois86

All 3,016 scientists

Single-year list2021

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in Switzerland	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	6	GM Grätzel, Michael	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 2
2	36	SJ Schmidhuber, Jürgen	IDSIA Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 6
3	147	HD Hanahan, Douglas	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 6
4	151	EM Egger, Matthias	University of Bern	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 7
5	408	KC Körner, Christian	Universitat Basel	Ecology	Rank 10
6	497	JJ Jonas, Jost Bruno	Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 1
7	537	SK Scrivener, Karen	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Building & Construction	Rank 3
8	598	DB Delley, Bernard	Paul Scherrer Institut	Applied Physics	Rank 21
9	603	HD Helbing, Dirk	ETH Zürich	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 4
10	612	VG von Gunten, Urs	Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology	Environmental Engineering	Rank 4
11	732	FE Fehr, Ernst	University of Zurich	Economics	Rank 17
12	869	SM Siegrist, Michael	ETH Zürich	Strategic, Defence & Security Studies	Rank 2
13	1,054	LU Laemmli, Ulrich K.	Université de Genève	Developmental Biology	Rank 44
14	1,140	NM Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 42
15	1,165	DD Denning, David	Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections	Microbiology	Rank 18
16	1,215	ZM Zimmermann, Michael B.	ETH Zürich	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 6
17	1,236	SC Szabo, Csaba	University of Fribourg	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 8
18	1,320	WM Weller, Michael	University Hospital Zurich Neurologische Klinik	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 41
19	1,526	GN Gisin, Nicolas	Université de Genève	General Physics	Rank 7
20	1,551	NP Nordmann, Patrice	University of Fribourg	Microbiology	Rank 26
21	1,560	HA Hagfeldt, Anders	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 55
22	1,696	CP Clavien, Pierre Alain	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Surgery	Rank 1
23	1,853	KM Kovalenko, Maksym V.	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 67
24	1,879	EL Excoffier, Laurent	University of Bern	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 23
25	1,898	PJ Pérez-Ramírez, Javier	ETH Zürich	Physical Chemistry	Rank 12
26	1,924	DD Damjanovic, Dragan	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 56
27	1,926	UM Unser, Michael	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 80
28	1,969	SN Spaldin, Nicola A.	ETH Zürich	Applied Physics	Rank 58
29	2,013	NL Novotny, L.	ETH Zürich	Optics	Rank 13
30	2,057	KR Knutti, Reto	ETH Zürich	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 23
31	2,117	HX Hu, Xile	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Organic Chemistry	Rank 31
32	2,135	TJ Tschopp, Jürg	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 57
33	2,146	DO de Onis, Mercedes	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 14
34	2,269	AR Aebersold, Ruedi	University of Zurich	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 54
35	2,406	AJ Auwerx, Johan	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 56
36	2,426	SF Sallusto, Federica	ETH Zürich	Immunology	Rank 63
37	2,436	FB Frey, Bruno S.	Universitat Basel	Economics	Rank 50
38	2,447	NB Nowack, Bernd	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Environmental Sciences	Rank 24
39	2,463	WS Windecker, Stephan	University Hospital Bern	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 73
40	2,474	SJ Six, J.	ETH Zürich	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 14
41	2,488	LB Lothenbach, Barbara	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Building & Construction	Rank 13
42	2,633	HE Hargittai, Eszter	University of Zurich	Communication & Media Studies	Rank 4
43	2,720	KJ Kolar, Johann W.	ETH Zürich	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 8
44	2,774	SS Seneviratne, S. I.	ETH Zürich	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 42
45	2,890	ZC Zipfel, Cyril	University of Zurich	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 22
46	2,892	KJ Kirchner, James W.	ETH Zürich	Environmental Engineering	Rank 10
47	2,957	VD van der Heijden, Marcel G.A.	Forschungsanstalt Agroscope Reckenholz-Tanikon	Ecology	Rank 97
48	2,977	SA Steinfeld, A.	ETH Zürich	Energy	Rank 58
49	3,024	OK Oberauer, Klaus	University of Zurich	Experimental Psychology	Rank 59
50	3,051	RD Rubatto, Daniela	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 50
51	3,087	MF Martinon, Fabio	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 83
52	3,308	GN Gruber, Nicolas	ETH Zürich	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 56
53	3,321	LN Lang, Niklaus P.	University Hospital Bern	Dentistry	Rank 4
54	3,369	BP Bühlmann, Peter	ETH Zürich	Statistics & Probability	Rank 29
55	3,385	BJ Bascompte, Jordi	University of Zurich	Ecology	Rank 108
56	3,455	SA Sayed, Ali H.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 25
57	3,527	SA Studart, André R.	ETH Zürich	Materials	Rank 61
58	3,575	SB Sudret, Bruno	ETH Zürich	Civil Engineering	Rank 11
59	3,606	TW Tress, Wolfgang	Zürcher Hochschule Winterthur	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 115
60	3,610	LA Lanzavecchia, Antonio	Istituto di Ricerca in Biomedicina, Bellinzona	Immunology	Rank 94
61	3,661	MN Marzari, Nicola	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 90
62	3,700	CS Claessens, Stijn	Bank for International Settlements	Economics	Rank 71
63	3,720	CW Curtin, W. A.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Materials	Rank 64
64	3,746	VP Vuilleumier, Patrik	Université de Genève	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 239
65	3,783	MH Markram, Henry	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 242
66	3,786	SB Smit, Berend	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Chemical Physics	Rank 84
67	3,835	RR Rizzoli, R.	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 76
68	3,913	JJ Joyce, J. A.	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 133
69	4,005	DM Donath, Marc Yves	Universitätsspital Basel	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 79
70	4,105	PT Perneger, Thomas	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 64
71	4,111	MH Moch, Holger	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 138
72	4,339	BJ Billieux, Joël	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Psychiatry	Rank 113
73	4,373	GC Gabay, Cem	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 31
74	4,389	VO Voinnet, Olivier	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 172
75	4,493	PD Pittet, Didier	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Microbiology	Rank 93
76	4,551	SD Scaramuzza, Davide	University of Zurich	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 42
77	4,561	GT Gerya, Taras	ETH Zürich	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 71
78	4,574	GJ Goudet, Jérôme	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 51
79	4,582	GA Guisan, Antoine	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Ecology	Rank 132
80	4,593	HA Helenius, Ari	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 180
81	4,663	GC Gerber, Christian	Uniklinik Balgrist	Orthopedics	Rank 15
82	4,671	SG Schneider, Gisbert	ETH Zürich	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 12
83	4,697	HT Hofmann, Thomas	ETH Zürich	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 138
84	4,706	ST Stocker, Thomas F.	University of Bern	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 84
85	4,727	NE Nigg, Erich A.	Biozentrum, Universität Basel	Developmental Biology	Rank 185
86	4,839	VM Valgimigli, Marco	University Hospital Bern	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 157
87	4,904	ZA Züttel, Andreas	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Materials	Rank 80
88	4,919	PS Pratsinis, Sotiris E.	ETH Zürich	Chemical Engineering	Rank 30
89	4,968	CJ Connolly, J. A.D.	ETH Zürich	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 81
90	4,990	BM Beniston, Martin	Université de Genève	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 92
91	5,004	MF Mach, Francois	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 160
92	5,019	SH Steinhausen, Hans Christoph	University of Zurich	Developmental & Child Psychology	Rank 60
93	5,094	WS Wagner, Stephan M.	ETH Zürich	Business & Management	Rank 122
94	5,114	YO Yazyev, O. V.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 109
95	5,175	HC Heinrich, C. A.	University of Zurich	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 85
96	5,177	DP Dyson, Paul J.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Organic Chemistry	Rank 80
97	5,237	AC Akdis, Cezmi	Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research	Allergy	Rank 8
98	5,261	BA Bairoch, Amos	Université de Genève	Developmental Biology	Rank 198
99	5,267	TB Thorens, Bernard	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 105
100	5,345	SK Scherer, Klaus	Université de Genève	Social Psychology	Rank 135
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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2021

Netherlands3,945 scientistsin 2021

Spain3,402 scientistsin 2021

India3,352 scientistsin 2021

South Korea2,715 scientistsin 2021

Sweden2,438 scientistsin 2021

Denmark1,795 scientistsin 2021

Explore other countries

Single-year list2021

Germany9,436 scientistsin 2021

France5,274 scientistsin 2021

Belgium1,780 scientistsin 2021

Austria1,219 scientistsin 2021

Luxembourg58 scientistsin 2021

United Kingdom15,844 scientistsin 2021

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Switzerland are in the 2021 Stanford Top 2% list?

3,016 scientists affiliated with Switzerland are on the 2021 single-year list, and 2,974 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2021 single-year list, ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists from Switzerland, with 455. It is followed by University of Zurich with 275.

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 3,016 in 2021, a change of +15.0%.

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.