France in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 5,911 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: France lists 5,911 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~2.39% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (2,119) and Université Paris-Saclay (256).
How many Top 2% scientists are from France?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for France (fra) lists 5,911 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 2.39% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,245, with average h-index near 13.7, across 1,314 distinct institutions.
France’s Top 2% footprint is Clinical Medicine–led, with strong Physics & Astronomy and a Paris-region university cluster (Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne, Paris Cité) plus CNRS-affiliated counts in the Directory coding.
European peers appear in top countries and the edition timeline.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in France?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s France country profile (fra, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Bray, Freddie Ian (Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer; Clinical Medicine; global rank 53; ~60,138 citations). The table below uses # in country for order within this national list and Global rank for the scholar’s overall rank_all in the single-year listing.
| # in country | Researcher | Institution | Field | Global rank | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bray, Freddie Ian | Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer | Clinical Medicine | 53 | 60,138 |
| 2 | Kroemer, Guido | Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy | Clinical Medicine | 65 | 31,193 |
| 3 | Tarascon, Jean Marie | CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 166 | 11,008 |
| 4 | Fosso-Wamba, Samuel | TBS Business School | Information & Communication Technologies | 372 | 7,225 |
| 5 | Robert, Caroline | Institut de Cancerologie Gustave Roussy | Clinical Medicine | 421 | 10,360 |
| 6 | Thuiller, Wilfried | Université Grenoble Alpes | Biology | 478 | 8,432 |
| 7 | Dehaene, Stanislas | Collège de France | Psychology & Cognitive Sciences | 501 | 5,026 |
| 8 | Loreau, Michel | Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale | Biology | 655 | 6,120 |
| 9 | Damour, Thibault | Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques | Physics & Astronomy | 669 | 5,508 |
| 10 | Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose | NEOMA Business School | Economics & Business | 711 | 5,563 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on France analytics.
What are France’s strongest fields?
France’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 2,119 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 2,119 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 838 |
| Biomedical Research | 533 |
| Chemistry | 344 |
| Engineering | 318 |
Which institutions lead in France?
The largest institutional cohort in the France profile is Université Paris-Saclay (256 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Université Paris-Saclay | 256 |
| Sorbonne Université | 211 |
| Université Paris Cité | 192 |
| CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique | 152 |
| Université de Bordeaux | 124 |
How has France’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, France moved from 4,500 listed scholars (2020) to 5,911 (2026) — a change of 1,411 (~+31%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 4,500 |
| 2021 | 5,272 |
| 2022 | 5,509 |
| 2023 | 5,588 |
| 2024 | 5,781 |
| 2025 | 5,883 |
| 2026 | 5,911 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 5,911 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 2.39% |
| Avg. citations | 1,245 |
| Avg. h-index | 13.7 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 53 |
| Distinct institutions | 1,314 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (2,119) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Bray, Freddie Ian (Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer; Clinical Medicine). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore France on ABS Nexora
- France country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Canada Top 2% directory 2026
- Asia vs Europe vs Americas
- Clinical Medicine field strengths
- Top countries overview
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does France have in 2026? 5,911 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 2.39% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in France? Clinical Medicine, with 2,119 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? Université Paris-Saclay, with 256 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did France grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 4,500 to 5,911 listed scholars (~+31%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among France’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Bray, Freddie Ian leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live France country page or Analytics on ABS Nexora; numbers refresh with the Directory database. Data source: Elsevier / Stanford–Ioannidis World’s Top 2% Scientists lists via ABS Nexora.