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

The United Kingdom has 18,692 scientists on the 2023 career-long Top 2% list, up 3.9% from 17,986 in 2022. That places the United Kingdom 2nd in the world by number of listed scientists. University College London has the most listed scientists (695), followed by Imperial College London (658).

Single Year

16,795

+350 (+2.1%) vs 2022

Career Data

18,692

+706 (+3.9%) vs 2022

World rank by count

No change vs 2022

Institutes

1,895

+86 (+4.8%) vs 2022

Scientists in the United Kingdom on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 25% since 2020.

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+14.9%

2022+4.3%

2023+3.9%

2024+5.1%

2025+4.7%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	13,805		14,999
2021	15,844	+14.8%	17,237	+14.9%
2022	16,445	+3.8%	17,986	+4.3%
2023	16,795	+2.1%	18,692	+3.9%
2024	17,554	+4.5%	19,646	+5.1%
2025	18,125	+3.3%	20,571	+4.7%

Top 10 institutes in the United Kingdom

By number of listed scientists

Career-long list2023

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All 18,692 scientists

Career-long list2023

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in the United Kingdom	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	6	FK Friston, Karl	Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 1
2	8	AD Altman, Douglas G.	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 1
3	11	BP Barnes, Peter J.	National Heart and Lung Institute	Respiratory System	Rank 1
4	59	RM Rutter, Michael	King's College London	Developmental & Child Psychology	Rank 1
5	62	GA Geim, Andre K.	The University of Manchester	Applied Physics	Rank 5
6	64	MM Marmot, Michael	University College London	Epidemiology	Rank 2
7	77	RJ Robertson, John	University of Cambridge	Applied Physics	Rank 6
8	78	BA Baddeley, Alan D.	University of York	Experimental Psychology	Rank 1
9	92	RT Robbins, Trevor W.	University of Cambridge	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 10
10	103	SG Smith, George Davey	University of Bristol	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 2
11	109	FC Frith, Chris	Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 13
12	113	HJ Higgins, Julian P.T.	Bristol Medical School	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 7
13	144	PJ Pendry, John B.	Imperial College London	Applied Physics	Rank 9
14	153	BS Baron-Cohen, Simon	Autism Research Centre	Developmental & Child Psychology	Rank 2
15	159	EE Ernst, Edzard	University of Exeter	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 8
16	173	CP Calder, Philip C.	University of Southampton, Faculty of Medicine	Nutrition & Dietetics	Rank 2
17	180	SS Smith, Stephen	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 24
18	185	LG Lip, Gregory Y.H.	University of Liverpool	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 12
19	186	PD Parkin, Donald Maxwell	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 9
20	197	WN White, Nicholas J.	Nuffield Department of Medicine	Tropical Medicine	Rank 1
21	198	HJ Hardy, John	UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 27
22	205	YZ Yang, Ziheng	University College London	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 2
23	207	GK Gaston, Kevin J.	University of Exeter	Ecology	Rank 3
24	212	CP Cohen, Philip	University of Dundee	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 14
25	215	DC Dobson, Christopher M.	University of Cambridge	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 15
26	218	GS Gordon, Siamon	Sir William Dunn School of Pathology	Immunology	Rank 14
27	221	MS Moncada, Salvador	Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 2
28	222	HD Hardie, D. Grahame	University of Dundee	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 16
29	233	HA Harris, A. L.	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 11
30	255	BM Berridge, Michael J.	The Babraham Institute	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 19
31	271	FA Ferrari, Andrea	University of Cambridge	Applied Physics	Rank 13
32	277	RE Rolls, Edmund T.	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 34
33	278	MJ McMurray, John J.V.	Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 15
34	289	HS Holgate, Stephen	University of Southampton, Faculty of Medicine	Respiratory System	Rank 2
35	302	TR Turner, R. C.	Nuffield Department of Medicine	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 13
36	306	HS Hawking, S. W.	Faculty of Mathematics	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 5
37	315	DR Dolan, Raymond J.	Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 35
38	322	WP Wilson, Peter W.	The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 18
39	326	BA Bird, Adrian	Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology	Developmental Biology	Rank 24
40	336	HL Hench, L. L.	University of London	Materials	Rank 4
41	337	CT Cole, Tim J.	UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health	Pediatrics	Rank 1
42	338	MC Marsden, C. D.	Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 37
43	355	CC Cooper, Cyrus	MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 16
44	370	RP Rothwell, Peter M.	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 41
45	372	SH Snaith, Henry J.	University of Oxford	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 13
46	381	AM Ashby, Michael F.	University of Cambridge	Materials	Rank 5
47	383	SW Schultz, Wolfram	University of Cambridge	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 42
48	412	HG Hannon, Gregory James	Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute	Developmental Biology	Rank 28
49	414	Yang, Xin She	Middlesex University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 11
50	415	NK Nicolaides, Kypros H.	King's College Hospital	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 1
51	437	PS Pocock, Stuart	London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 22
52	444	BK Beven, Keith	Lancaster Environment Centre	Environmental Engineering	Rank 2
53	462	GM Goedert, Michel	The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 44
54	466	PR Peto, Richard	Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 13
55	482	GP Goadsby, Peter J.	King's College London	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 47
56	501	LD Livermore, David Martin	University of East Anglia	Microbiology	Rank 6
57	523	SA Schapira, Anthony	UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 52
58	525	SJ Scott, J. F.	University of St Andrews	Applied Physics	Rank 24
59	529	FA Fersht, Alan R.	The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 35
60	547	SA Steptoe, Andrew	University College London	Psychiatry	Rank 17
61	553	GM Griffiths, Mark D.	Nottingham Trent University	Substance Abuse	Rank 1
62	558	DJ Duncan, John S.	UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 55
63	561	KT Kouzarides, Tony	Wellcome Trust/ Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute	Developmental Biology	Rank 38
64	578	DD Denning, David W.	The University of Manchester	Microbiology	Rank 8
65	588	CJ Cuzick, Jack	Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 24
66	591	MS Mann, Stephen	University of Bristol	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 22
67	592	MD McKenzie, Dan	Bullard Laboratories	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 2
68	599	SD Strachan, David P.	St George’s, University of London	Respiratory System	Rank 3
69	675	MM Murphy, Michael P.	MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 43
70	680	MS Maier, Stefan A.	Imperial College London	Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	Rank 24
71	686	VJ Vane, John R.	Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry	Pharmacology & Pharmacy	Rank 5
72	694	CJ Cleland, John G.F.	University of Glasgow	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 37
73	696	DE Dickinson, Eric	University of Leeds	Chemical Physics	Rank 22
74	698	PJ Pearce, J. A.	Cardiff University	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 3
75	711	RA Ridley, Anne	University of Bristol	Developmental Biology	Rank 44
76	728	DI Deary, Ian J.	The University of Edinburgh	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 71
77	735	GT Greenhalgh, Trisha	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 18
78	746	FL Farrugia, Louis J.	University of Glasgow	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 6
79	759	GR Goodman, R.	King's College London	Developmental & Child Psychology	Rank 9
80	762	WJ Wardle, Jane	University College London	Public Health	Rank 5
81	772	PC Ponting, Chris P.	MRC Human Genetics Unit	Developmental Biology	Rank 49
82	785	TS Thompson, Simon	Swansea University Medical School	Statistics & Probability	Rank 7
83	789	CB Charlesworth, Brian	The University of Edinburgh	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 12
84	806	BF Balkwill, Frances	Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 31
85	828	DJ Downward, Julian	The Francis Crick Institute	Developmental Biology	Rank 55
86	833	DR Dunbar, Robin I.M.	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology	Rank 1
87	840	CR Costanza, Robert	University College London	Ecology	Rank 19
88	844	HD Hunter, David	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 33
89	847	VJ Vandenbroucke, Jan P.	London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 20
90	878	ED Easton, Douglas F.	University of Cambridge	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 35
91	895	MR Morris, Richard	The University of Edinburgh	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 92
92	898	RJ Rothwell, John	UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 93
93	903	FP Fonagy, Peter	University College London	Psychiatry	Rank 30
94	907	LA Lees, Andrew John	Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 94
95	908	LT Langdon, Terence G.	University of Southampton	Materials	Rank 11
96	925	GG Gibson, Glenn R.	University of Reading	Microbiology	Rank 14
97	937	BD Bishop, Dorothy V.M.	University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division	Experimental Psychology	Rank 15
98	942	FC Foyer, Christine H.	University of Birmingham	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 4
99	945	RD Rubinsztein, David C.	Cambridge Institute for Medical Research	Developmental Biology	Rank 63
100	950	BD Brooks, David J.	Newcastle University	Neurology & Neurosurgery	Rank 95
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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2023

United States81,159 scientistsin 2023

Germany10,990 scientistsin 2023

China9,013 scientistsin 2023

Canada8,815 scientistsin 2023

Japan8,126 scientistsin 2023

Australia7,002 scientistsin 2023

Explore other countries

Career-long list2023

Sweden3,200 scientistsin 2023

Denmark2,034 scientistsin 2023

Finland1,364 scientistsin 2023

Norway1,315 scientistsin 2023

Ireland769 scientistsin 2023

Estonia67 scientistsin 2023

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Frequently asked questions

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

16,795 scientists affiliated with the United Kingdom are on the 2023 single-year list, and 18,692 are on the career-long list.

Which institute in the United Kingdom has the most Top 2% scientists?

On the 2023 career-long list, University College London has the most listed scientists from the United Kingdom, with 695. It is followed by Imperial College London with 658.

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

On the career-long list, the United Kingdom went from 14,999 scientists in 2020 to 18,692 in 2023, a change of +24.6%.

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.