Switzerland's Top 2% Scientists 2025: Career-Long List

Switzerland has 3,659 scientists on the 2025 career-long Top 2% list, up 6.6% from 3,431 in 2024. That places Switzerland 12th in the world by number of listed scientists. ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists (555), followed by Universität Zürich (301).

Single Year

3,549

+145 (+4.3%) vs 2024

Career Data

3,659

+228 (+6.6%) vs 2024

World rank by count

#12

No change vs 2024

Institutes

572

+105 (+22.5%) vs 2024

Scientists in Switzerland on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 44% 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 list2025

Show the list

1ETH Zürich555
2Universität Zürich301
3École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne279
4Université de Genève185
5University of Bern178
6Universität Basel158
7Université de Lausanne (UNIL)102
8Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois89
9UniversitatsSpital Zurich85
10Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève83

All 3,659 scientists

Career-long list2025

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	2	GM Grätzel, Michael	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 2
2	87	HD Hanahan, Douglas A.	Schweizerisches Institut für Experimentelle Krebsforschung	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 4
3	92	LU Laemmli, Ulrich K.	Université de Genève	Developmental Biology	Rank 8
4	405	JJ Jonas, Jost Bruno	Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel	Ophthalmology & Optometry	Rank 2
5	455	KC Kor̈ner, Christian	Universität Basel	Ecology	Rank 7
6	508	SC Szabo, Csaba	University of Fribourg	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 4
7	643	AR Aebersold, Ruedi H.	ETH Zürich	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 39
8	669	LT Lüscher, Thomas Felix	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 33
9	670	CC Camerer, Colin F.	Swiss Data Science Center	Economics	Rank 6
10	687	HD Helbing, Dirk	ETH Zürich	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 6
11	773	GN Gisin, Nicolas	Université de Genève	General Physics	Rank 3
12	883	DB Delley, Bernard T.	Paul Scherrer Institut	Applied Physics	Rank 31
13	963	LA Lanzavecchia, Antonio	ETH Zürich	Immunology	Rank 38
14	1,002	SD Seebach, Dieter	ETH Zürich	Organic Chemistry	Rank 28
15	1,010	AJ Auwerx, Johan H.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 51
16	1,128	NE Nigg, Erich A.	Biozentrum, Universität Basel	Developmental Biology	Rank 72
17	1,204	SN Spaldin, Nicola A.	ETH Zürich	Applied Physics	Rank 46
18	1,219	UM Unser, Michael A.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 36
19	1,366	FE Fehr, Ernst	Universität Zürich	Economics	Rank 12
20	1,386	WK Wüthrich, Kurt A.	ETH Zürich	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 69
21	1,388	CP Clavien, Pierre Alain	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Surgery	Rank 3
22	1,395	WM Weller, Michael	Universitätsspital Zürich, Klinik für Neurologie	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 53
23	1,533	PN Patrice, Nordmann L.	University of Fribourg	Microbiology	Rank 24
24	1,567	TJ Tschopp, Júrg	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Immunology	Rank 57
25	1,569	ZR Zinkernagel, Rolf Martin	UniversitatsSpital Zurich	Immunology	Rank 58
26	1,611	NM Nazeeruddin, Mohammad Khaja	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 46
27	1,626	BM Büttiker, Markus	Université de Genève	Applied Physics	Rank 59
28	1,754	HA Helenius, Ari M.	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 104
29	1,804	MS McLennan, Scott M.	ETH Zürich	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 11
30	1,851	BJ Bünzli, Jean Claude G.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 9
31	1,892	DF Diederich, François N.	ETH Zürich	Organic Chemistry	Rank 51
32	1,896	EL Excoffier, Laurent	University of Bern	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 29
33	1,901	PD Pittet, Didier	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Microbiology	Rank 31
34	1,940	VG Von Gunten, Urs	Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology	Environmental Engineering	Rank 4
35	1,983	LM Lüscher, Martin	University of Bern	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 17
36	2,010	AJ Angst, Jules	Universität Zürich	Psychiatry	Rank 70
37	2,176	NL Novotný, Lukas	ETH Zürich	Optics	Rank 13
38	2,196	SK Scrivener, Karen Louise	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Building & Construction	Rank 4
39	2,224	SM Siegrist, Michael	ETH Zürich	Food Science	Rank 7
40	2,232	BA Bairoch, Amos	SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics	Developmental Biology	Rank 132
41	2,293	FB Frey, Bruno S.	Universität Basel	Economics	Rank 20
42	2,345	PJ Provis, John Lloyd	Paul Scherrer Institut	Building & Construction	Rank 5
43	2,362	RJ Reubi, Jean Claude	University of Bern, Institute of Pathology	Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging	Rank 6
44	2,384	AC Akdiş, Cezmi A. A.	Universität Zürich	Allergy	Rank 8
45	2,519	BA Baiker, Alfons	ETH Zürich	Physical Chemistry	Rank 13
46	2,547	FR Frackowiak, RSJ S.J.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 235
47	2,685	VP Vuilleumier, Patrik O.	Université de Genève	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 247
48	2,702	PT Perneger, Thomas V.	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 60
49	2,830	BM Baggiolini, Marco	Wander Ltd.	Immunology	Rank 100
50	2,896	SM Schwab, Martin Ernst	Universität Zürich	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 262
51	2,898	SF Sallusto, Federica	ETH Zürich	Immunology	Rank 105
52	3,137	DV Dietz, Volkmar	Uniklinik Balgrist	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 278
53	3,201	MF Messerli, Franz H.	Kantonsspital Luzern	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 153
54	3,293	KJ Kolar, Johann Walter	ETH Zürich	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 8
55	3,372	BA Borbély, Alexander A.	Universität Zürich	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 291
56	3,411	GG Gabbiani, Giulio	Université de Genève Faculté de Médecine	Pathology	Rank 11
57	3,436	PL Piddock, Laura J.V.	Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership	Microbiology	Rank 73
58	3,544	BT Bieber, Thomas	Universitätsspital Zürich, Dermatologische Klinik	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 7
59	3,559	PJ Pérez-Ramírez, Javier	NCCR Catalysis	Organic Chemistry	Rank 90
60	3,609	BJ Bosch, Jaime M.	University Hospital Bern	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 61
61	3,615	LN Lang, Niklaus Peter	University Hospital Bern	Dentistry	Rank 6
62	3,697	SB Smit, Berend	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Chemical Physics	Rank 103
63	3,734	MM Morari, Manfred A.	ETH Zürich	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 19
64	3,758	HM Hengartner, Michael Otmar	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 194
65	3,790	AS Antonarakis, Stylianos E.	Université de Genève	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 5
66	3,876	CE Carafoli, Ernesto	ETH Zürich	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 174
67	3,910	RR Rizzoli, René R.	Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 125
68	3,941	AA Aguzzi, Adriano A.	Universität Zürich	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 348
69	3,967	DD Damjanovic, Dragan	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Applied Physics	Rank 113
70	3,986	RR Roubenoff, Ronenn A.	Novartis International AG	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 33
71	4,006	VM Vetterli, Martin	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 27
72	4,101	SD Sornette, Didier	ETH Zürich	Fluids & Plasmas	Rank 30
73	4,200	WS Windecker, Stephan W.	University Hospital Bern	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 206
74	4,206	PS Pratsinis, Sotiris E.	ETH Zürich	Chemical Engineering	Rank 15
75	4,230	NB Nowack, Bernd	Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology	Environmental Sciences	Rank 24
76	4,278	CW Curtin, W. A.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Materials	Rank 48
77	4,323	SA Steinfeld, Aldo	ETH Zürich	Energy	Rank 52
78	4,330	VO Voinnet, Olivier	ETH Zürich	Developmental Biology	Rank 218
79	4,412	CE Constable, Edwin C.	Universität Basel	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 20
80	4,471	MH Markram, Henry	Blue Brain Project	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 385
81	4,480	TB Thorens, Bernard	Faculté de biologie et de médecine	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 137
82	4,486	DO de Oniś, Mercedes	Organisation Mondiale de la Santé	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 39
83	4,494	WA Wagner, Andreas	Universität Zürich	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 46
84	4,523	SA Sayed, Ali H.H.	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 32
85	4,643	WE Weibel, Ewald R.	University of Bern	Physiology	Rank 12
86	4,659	KU Keller, Ursula	ETH Zürich	Optics	Rank 25
87	4,880	ZJ Zhu, Jieping	Institut des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques	Organic Chemistry	Rank 120
88	4,929	GC Gerber, Christian A.	Uniklinik Balgrist	Orthopedics	Rank 19
89	4,948	VG van Gunsteren, Wilfred F.V.	ETH Zürich	Chemical Physics	Rank 130
90	4,966	ST Stocker, Thomas F.	University of Bern, Institute of Applied Physics	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 60
91	4,981	LD Loss, Daniel V.	Universität Basel	Applied Physics	Rank 135
92	5,075	BT Boller, Thomas	Botanischer Garten	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 37
93	5,258	GJ Goudet, Jérôme	Université de Lausanne (UNIL)	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 67
94	5,306	SN Sartorius, Norman	Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programs	Psychiatry	Rank 161
95	5,384	FJ Fruchart, Jean Charles	Residual Risk Reduction Initiative (R3i) Foundation	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 257
96	5,436	SH Simon, H. U.	University of Bern	Allergy	Rank 18
97	5,481	BE Bakker, Eric J.	Université de Genève	Analytical Chemistry	Rank 24
98	5,517	ZA Züttel, Andreas	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Materials	Rank 65
99	5,569	AM Aapro, Matti S.	Genolier Cancer Centre	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 240
100	5,879	OK Oberauer, Klaus	Universität Zürich	Experimental Psychology	Rank 99
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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2025

Italy6,839 scientists

Netherlands4,755 scientists

Spain3,816 scientists

Sweden3,471 scientists

India3,371 scientists

South Korea2,620 scientists

Explore other countries

Career-long list2025

Germany12,166 scientists

France7,284 scientists

Belgium2,188 scientists

Austria1,472 scientists

Luxembourg65 scientists

United Kingdom20,571 scientists

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from Switzerland are in the 2025 Stanford Top 2% list?

3,549 scientists affiliated with Switzerland are on the 2025 single-year list, and 3,659 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2025 career-long list, ETH Zürich has the most listed scientists from Switzerland, with 555. It is followed by Universität Zürich with 301.

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 3,659 in 2025, a change of +43.7%.

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.