Switzerland's Top 2% Scientists 2023: Career-Long List

Switzerland has 3,261 scientists on the 2023 career-long Top 2% list, up 3.8% from 3,141 in 2022. That places Switzerland 11th in the world by number of listed scientists. ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists (471), followed by Universität Zürich (281).

Single Year

3,311

+78 (+2.4%) vs 2022

Career Data

3,261

+120 (+3.8%) vs 2022

World rank by count

#11

No change vs 2022

Institutes

468

+25 (+5.6%) vs 2022

Scientists in Switzerland on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 28% since 2020.

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+16.8%

2022+5.6%

2023+3.8%

2024+5.2%

2025+6.6%

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

Career-long list2023

Show the list

1ETH Zürich471
2Universität Zürich281
3Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne260
4Université de Genève166
5University of Bern147
6Universitat Basel132
7Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève99
8Université de Lausanne (UNIL)90
9UniversitatsSpital Zurich89
10Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois88

All 3,261 scientists

Career-long 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	1	GM Grätzel, Michael	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 1
2	71	LU Laemmli, Ulrich K.	Université de Genève	Developmental Biology	Rank 8
3	96	HD Hanahan, Douglas	Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 6
4	470	SC Szabo, Csaba	University of Fribourg	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 4
5	581	AR Aebersold, Ruedi	ETH Zürich	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 39
6	594	KC Körner, Christian	Universitat Basel	Ecology	Rank 11
7	638	LT Lüscher, Thomas F.	Universität Zürich	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 31
8	716	HD Helbing, Dirk	ETH Zürich	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 6
9	761	GN Gisin, Nicolas	Université de Genève	General Physics	Rank 3
10	782	SD Seebach, Dieter	ETH Zürich	Organic Chemistry	Rank 23
11	794	LA Lanzavecchia, Antonio	Vir Biotechnology, Inc.	Immunology	Rank 35
12	815	PM Parrinello, Michele	ETH Zürich	Chemical Physics	Rank 27
13	839	DB Delley, Bernard	Paul Scherrer Institut	Applied Physics	Rank 33
14	887	AJ Auwerx, Johan	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 53
15	923	NE Nigg, Erich A.	Biozentrum, Universität Basel	Developmental Biology	Rank 60
16	1,111	UM Unser, Michael	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 31
17	1,271	SN Spaldin, Nicola A.	ETH Zürich	Applied Physics	Rank 50
18	1,276	ZR Zinkernagel, Rolf M.	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Immunology	Rank 51
19	1,286	WM Weller, Michael	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 56
20	1,343	BM Büttiker, Markus	Université de Genève	Applied Physics	Rank 52
21	1,354	TJ Tschopp, Jürg	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 53
22	1,386	FE Fehr, Ernst	Universität Zürich	Economics	Rank 12
23	1,465	HA Helenius, Ari	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 95
24	1,497	CP Clavien, Pierre Alain	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Surgery	Rank 3
25	1,556	NP Nordmann, Patrice	University of Fribourg	Microbiology	Rank 25
26	1,660	NM Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 44
27	1,672	DF Diederich, François	ETH Zürich	Organic Chemistry	Rank 48
28	1,681	AJ Angst, Jules	Universität Zürich	Psychiatry	Rank 59
29	1,722	PD Pittet, Didier	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Microbiology	Rank 29
30	1,745	EL Excoffier, Laurent	University of Bern	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 28
31	1,777	LM Lüscher, Martin	Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 17
32	1,820	BJ Bünzli, Jean Claude G.	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 13
33	2,085	FR Frackowiak, Richard S.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 199
34	2,130	RJ Reubi, Jean Claude	University of Bern, Institute of Pathology	Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging	Rank 6
35	2,201	NL Novotny, Lukas	ETH Zürich	Optics	Rank 9
36	2,204	BM Baggiolini, Marco	Theodor Kocher Institute	Immunology	Rank 87
37	2,243	BA Baiker, Alfons	ETH Zürich	Physical Chemistry	Rank 13
38	2,337	VG von Gunten, Urs	Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology	Environmental Engineering	Rank 5
39	2,344	HA Hagfeldt, Anders	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 56
40	2,372	FB Frey, Bruno S.	Universitat Basel	Economics	Rank 18
41	2,506	SM Schwab, Martin E.	Universität Zürich	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 236
42	2,727	VP Vuilleumier, Patrik	Université de Genève	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 254
43	2,797	DV Dietz, Volker	Uniklinik Balgrist	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 263
44	2,806	SF Sallusto, Federica	Istituto di Ricerca in Biomedicina, Bellinzona	Immunology	Rank 111
45	2,924	GG Gabbiani, Giulio	Université de Genève Faculté de Médecine	Pathology	Rank 11
46	2,984	ZM Zimmermann, Michael B.	ETH Zürich	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 21
47	3,165	BA Borbély, Alexander	Universität Zürich	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 301
48	3,317	HM Hengartner, Michael O.	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 182
49	3,333	SM Siegrist, Michael	ETH Zürich	Strategic, Defence & Security Studies	Rank 3
50	3,345	PT Perneger, Thomas	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 66
51	3,367	SB Smit, Berend	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Chemical Physics	Rank 104
52	3,411	AC Akdis, C.	Universität Zürich	Allergy	Rank 14
53	3,506	VM Vetterli, Martin	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 22
54	3,560	KJ Kolar, Johann W.	ETH Zürich	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 8
55	3,587	AA Aguzzi, Adriano	Universität Zürich	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 329
56	3,628	RR Roubenoff, Ronenn	Novartis International AG	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 29
57	3,726	AS Antonarakis, Stylianos E.	Université de Genève	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 6
58	3,779	VO Voinnet, Olivier	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 205
59	3,784	BJ Bosch, Jaume	University Hospital Bern	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 65
60	3,811	LN Lang, Niklaus Peter	University of Bern, Faculty of Medicine	Dentistry	Rank 9
61	3,926	CE Constable, Edwin C.	Universitat Basel	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 21
62	4,045	DD Damjanovic, Dragan	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 120
63	4,078	PS Pratsinis, Sotiris E.	ETH Zürich	Chemical Engineering	Rank 15
64	4,112	MH Markram, Henry	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 374
65	4,234	WE Weibel, Ewald R.	University of Bern	Physiology	Rank 11
66	4,315	PJ Pérez-Ramírez, Javier	ETH Zürich	Organic Chemistry	Rank 111
67	4,352	TB Thorens, Bernard	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 141
68	4,410	WA Wagner, Andreas	Universität Zürich	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 51
69	4,450	HT Hofmann, Thomas	ETH Zürich	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 100
70	4,569	SA Sayed, Ali H.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 32
71	4,572	ZJ Zhu, Jieping	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Organic Chemistry	Rank 115
72	4,592	SK Scrivener, Karen L.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Building & Construction	Rank 6
73	4,608	BT Boller, Thomas	Universitat Basel	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 31
74	4,614	LD Loss, Daniel	Universitat Basel	Applied Physics	Rank 135
75	4,617	VG Van Gunsteren, Wilfred F.	ETH Zürich	Chemical Physics	Rank 130
76	4,636	KH Kokko, Hanna	Universität Zürich	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 58
77	4,648	KU Keller, Ursula	ETH Zürich	Optics	Rank 20
78	4,718	NB Nowack, Bernd	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Environmental Sciences	Rank 24
79	4,724	ST Stocker, Thomas F.	University of Bern, Institute of Applied Physics	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 55
80	4,764	SA Steinfeld, Aldo	ETH Zürich	Energy	Rank 51
81	4,790	VS van Schaik, Carel P.	Universität Zürich	Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology	Rank 9
82	4,819	RR Rizzoli, René	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 150
83	4,833	WS Windecker, Stephan	University Hospital Bern	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 243
84	4,835	DO de Onis, Mercedes	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 42
85	4,852	GC Gerber, Christian	Uniklinik Balgrist	Orthopedics	Rank 19
86	4,874	CW Curtin, William A.	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Materials	Rank 56
87	5,005	GJ Goudet, Jérôme	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 67
88	5,069	HE Hunziker, Ernst B.	University Hospital Bern	Biomedical Engineering	Rank 21
89	5,355	SH Simon, Hans Uwe	University of Bern	Allergy	Rank 18
90	5,429	DJ Dunitz, Jack D.	ETH Zürich	General Chemistry	Rank 42
91	5,528	BE Bakker, Eric	Université de Genève	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 25
92	5,592	AM Aapro, Matti S.	Clinique de Genolier	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 249
93	5,611	SE Schadt, Eric E.	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Developmental Biology	Rank 281
94	5,679	DP Dyson, Paul J.	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Organic Chemistry	Rank 132
95	5,680	SN Sartorius, Norman	Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes	Psychiatry	Rank 161
96	5,692	HB Hemmings, Brian A.	Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 281
97	5,828	SA Schier, Alexander F.	Biozentrum, Universität Basel	Developmental Biology	Rank 292
98	5,855	KW Koppenol, Willem H.	ETH Zürich	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 290
99	5,974	SP Schmid-Hempel, Paul	ETH Zürich	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 80
100	6,058	GB Giese, Bernd	University of Fribourg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 141
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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2023

France6,522 scientistsin 2023

Italy5,723 scientistsin 2023

Netherlands4,259 scientistsin 2023

Spain3,230 scientistsin 2023

Sweden3,200 scientistsin 2023

India2,578 scientistsin 2023

Explore other countries

Career-long list2023

Germany10,990 scientistsin 2023

Belgium1,861 scientistsin 2023

Austria1,311 scientistsin 2023

Luxembourg50 scientistsin 2023

United Kingdom18,692 scientistsin 2023

Denmark2,034 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 career-long list, ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists from Switzerland, with 471. It is followed by Universität Zürich with 281.

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

On the career-long list, Switzerland went from 2,546 scientists in 2020 to 3,261 in 2023, a change of +28.1%.

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.