Switzerland's Top 2% Scientists 2023

Switzerland has 3,311 scientists on the 2023 single-year Top 2% list, up 2.4% from 3,233 in 2022. That places Switzerland 13th in the world by number of listed scientists. ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists (481), followed by Universität Zürich (310).

Single Year

3,311

+78 (+2.4%) vs 2022

Career Data

3,261

+120 (+3.8%) vs 2022

World rank by count

#13

No change vs 2022

Institutes

345

+18 (+5.5%) vs 2022

Scientists in Switzerland on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 26% 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 list2023

Show the list

1ETH Zürich481
2Universität Zürich310
3Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne251
4Université de Genève155
5University of Bern146
6Universitat Basel125
7Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève103
8Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois98
9Organisation Mondiale de la Santé98
10Université de Lausanne (UNIL)97

All 3,311 scientists

Single-year list2023

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	20	GM Grätzel, Michael	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 2
2	92	HD Hanahan, Douglas	Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 5
3	399	SK Scrivener, Karen L.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Building & Construction	Rank 3
4	499	SM Siegrist, Michael	ETH Zürich	Strategic, Defence & Security Studies	Rank 2
5	584	KC Körner, Christian	Universitat Basel	Ecology	Rank 11
6	715	HD Helbing, Dirk	ETH Zürich	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 4
7	830	FE Fehr, Ernst	Universität Zürich	Economics	Rank 15
8	850	AC Akdis, C.	Universität Zürich	Allergy	Rank 1
9	883	VG von Gunten, Urs	Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology	Environmental Engineering	Rank 5
10	903	DB Delley, Bernard	Paul Scherrer Institut	Applied Physics	Rank 25
11	921	GA Graves, Alex	NNAISENSE	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 54
12	939	WM Weller, Michael	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 27
13	1,012	SN Spaldin, Nicola A.	ETH Zürich	Applied Physics	Rank 31
14	1,104	SC Szabo, Csaba	University of Fribourg	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 5
15	1,282	SG Salanti, Georgia	Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 33
16	1,343	ZM Zimmermann, Michael B.	ETH Zürich	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 6
17	1,384	LB Lothenbach, B.	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Building & Construction	Rank 10
18	1,520	BJ Bünzli, Jean Claude G.	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 6
19	1,535	SS Seneviratne, Sonia	Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 16
20	1,628	NM Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 55
21	1,692	GN Gisin, Nicolas	Université de Genève	General Physics	Rank 14
22	1,794	ZC Zipfel, Cyril	Universität Zürich	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 16
23	1,805	SJ Six, Johan	ETH Zürich	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 11
24	1,806	PM Parrinello, Michele	ETH Zürich	Chemical Physics	Rank 35
25	1,911	HE Hargittai, Eszter	Universität Zürich	Communication & Media Studies	Rank 3
26	1,919	KM Kovalenko, Maksym V.	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 65
27	1,968	KR Knutti, R.	Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 22
28	2,002	KJ Kolar, Johann W.	ETH Zürich	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 5
29	2,008	BP Bühlmann, Peter	ETH Zürich	Statistics & Probability	Rank 29
30	2,018	CP Clavien, Pierre Alain	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Surgery	Rank 1
31	2,049	VD van der Heijden, Marcel G.A.	Universität Zürich	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 12
32	2,139	HA Hagfeldt, Anders	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 79
33	2,234	DO de Onis, Mercedes	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 9
34	2,240	GN Gruber, Nicolas	ETH Zürich	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 26
35	2,290	DD Damjanovic, Dragan	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 66
36	2,333	LU Laemmli, Ulrich K.	Université de Genève	Developmental Biology	Rank 77
37	2,345	SD Scaramuzza, Davide	Universität Zürich	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 20
38	2,358	NP Nordmann, Patrice	University of Fribourg	Microbiology	Rank 46
39	2,394	LT Lüscher, Thomas F.	Universität Zürich	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 79
40	2,745	HX Hu, Xile	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Organic Chemistry	Rank 37
41	2,956	NB Nowack, Bernd	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Environmental Sciences	Rank 46
42	2,957	SF Sallusto, Federica	Istituto di Ricerca in Biomedicina, Bellinzona	Immunology	Rank 73
43	2,968	UM Unser, Michael	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 130
44	2,977	MN Marzari, Nicola	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 82
45	2,992	BN Bennett, Nathan J.	International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources	Fisheries	Rank 4
46	3,052	TJ Tschopp, Jürg	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 77
47	3,140	OK Oberauer, Klaus	Universität Zürich	Experimental Psychology	Rank 58
48	3,179	BJ Bascompte, Jordi	Universität Zürich	Ecology	Rank 91
49	3,216	SB Sudret, Bruno	ETH Zürich	Civil Engineering	Rank 9
50	3,236	KJ Kirchner, James W.	ETH Zürich	Environmental Engineering	Rank 10
51	3,262	FB Frey, Bruno S.	Universitat Basel	Economics	Rank 68
52	3,274	BJ Billieux, Joël	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Psychiatry	Rank 82
53	3,338	SG Schneider, Gisbert	ETH Zürich	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 11
54	3,390	AJ Auwerx, Johan	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 71
55	3,412	SA Studart, André R.	ETH Zürich	Materials	Rank 62
56	3,433	AR Aebersold, Ruedi	ETH Zürich	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 74
57	3,460	EL Excoffier, Laurent	University of Bern	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 27
58	3,519	NL Novotny, Lukas	ETH Zürich	Optics	Rank 15
59	3,551	MH Markram, Henry	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 208
60	3,594	MF Martinon, Fabio	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 94
61	3,600	PJ Pérez-Ramírez, Javier	ETH Zürich	Organic Chemistry	Rank 51
62	3,629	SA Sayed, Ali H.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 32
63	3,633	VE Von Elm, Erik	Centre Universitaire de Médecine Générale et Santé Publique, Lausanne	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 79
64	3,685	JJ Joyce, Johanna A.	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 118
65	3,730	RR Rizzoli, René	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 73
66	3,900	RD Rubatto, Daniela	University of Bern	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 59
67	3,907	MN Meinshausen, Nicolai	ETH Zürich	Statistics & Probability	Rank 35
68	3,954	TW Tress, Wolfgang	ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 137
69	4,059	SA Steinfeld, Aldo	ETH Zürich	Energy	Rank 89
70	4,061	ZA Züttel, Andreas	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Materials	Rank 70
71	4,119	RM Robinson, Mark D.	Universität Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 134
72	4,131	SK Scherer, Klaus R.	Université de Genève	Social Psychology	Rank 120
73	4,295	LN Lang, Niklaus Peter	University of Bern, Faculty of Medicine	Dentistry	Rank 8
74	4,301	SN Sartorius, Norman	Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes	Psychiatry	Rank 108
75	4,320	LM Lüscher, Martin	Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 35
76	4,329	LA Lanzavecchia, Antonio	Vir Biotechnology, Inc.	Immunology	Rank 112
77	4,459	SB Smit, Berend	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Chemical Physics	Rank 80
78	4,471	VJ Vorholt, Julia A.	ETH Zürich	Microbiology	Rank 87
79	4,722	SK Scherer, Klaus	Université de Genève	Social Psychology	Rank 133
80	4,775	WS Windecker, Stephan	University Hospital Bern	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 156
81	4,817	HT Hofmann, Thomas	ETH Zürich	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 192
82	4,906	BF Bull, Fiona C.	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Public Health	Rank 53
83	5,003	HG Haller, George	ETH Zürich	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 32
84	5,019	CW Curtin, William A.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Materials	Rank 80
85	5,041	MH Moch, Holger	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 177
86	5,062	MJ Markard, Jochen	ETH Zürich	Science Studies	Rank 11
87	5,135	GC Gabay, Cem	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 34
88	5,141	FR Flatt, Robert J.	ETH Zürich	Building & Construction	Rank 35
89	5,222	BJ Bosch, Jaume	University Hospital Bern	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 72
90	5,240	WO Wenger, Oliver S.	Universitat Basel	General Chemistry	Rank 27
91	5,270	WS Wagner, Stephan M.	ETH Zürich	Business & Management	Rank 131
92	5,276	KT Kippenberg, Tobias J.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Optics	Rank 23
93	5,294	BP Broz, Petr	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 133
94	5,308	DM Donath, Marc Y.	Universitätsspital Basel	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 108
95	5,360	VP Vuilleumier, Patrik	Université de Genève	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 318
96	5,421	DR Dummer, Reinhard	Universitätsspital Zürich, Dermatologische Klinik	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 190
97	5,455	VM Valgimigli, Marco	Università della Svizzera italiana	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 186
98	5,491	CJ Connolly, James A.D.	ETH Zürich	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 71
99	5,504	WM Wild, Martin	Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 105
100	5,581	GJ Goudet, Jérôme	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 47
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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2023

India4,635 scientistsin 2023

Netherlands4,291 scientistsin 2023

Spain3,736 scientistsin 2023

South Korea3,240 scientistsin 2023

Sweden2,548 scientistsin 2023

Iran2,141 scientistsin 2023

Explore other countries

Single-year list2023

Germany10,088 scientistsin 2023

France5,588 scientistsin 2023

Belgium1,935 scientistsin 2023

Austria1,300 scientistsin 2023

Luxembourg68 scientistsin 2023

United Kingdom16,795 scientistsin 2023

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Switzerland are in the 2023 Stanford Top 2% list?

3,311 scientists affiliated with Switzerland are on the 2023 single-year list, and 3,261 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2023 single-year list, ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists from Switzerland, with 481. It is followed by Universität Zürich with 310.

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 3,311 in 2023, a change of +26.3%.

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.