Pakistan in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 1,030 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: Pakistan lists 1,030 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~0.42% of the SY analytics total), led by Chemistry (170) and Government College University Faisalabad (55).
How many Top 2% scientists are from Pakistan?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for Pakistan (pak) lists 1,030 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 0.42% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,333, with average h-index near 14.4, across 209 distinct institutions.
Pakistan crossed 1,000 listed scholars in the 2026 single-year snapshot, with Chemistry as the largest field and a multi-city university footprint spanning Faisalabad, Lahore, and Islamabad.
Regional context: Bangladesh, India, and Saudi Arabia.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in Pakistan?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s Pakistan country profile (pak, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Bhutta, Zulfiqar A. (The Aga Khan University; Clinical Medicine; global rank 235; ~39,793 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 | Bhutta, Zulfiqar A. | The Aga Khan University | Clinical Medicine | 235 | 39,793 |
| 2 | Ashraf, Muhammad Mudassar | University of Lahore | Biology | 739 | 5,636 |
| 3 | Virani, Salim Shahbuddin | The Aga Khan University | Clinical Medicine | 863 | 16,716 |
| 4 | Kausar, Ayesha | National Center for Physics | Chemistry | 1,073 | 1,942 |
| 5 | Akram, Muhammad | University of the Punjab | Information & Communication Technologies | 2,166 | 2,521 |
| 6 | Sajid, Muhammad | University of Management and Technology Lahore | Chemistry | 2,173 | 1,843 |
| 7 | Abbas, Jawad | University of Central Punjab | Economics & Business | 2,885 | 1,709 |
| 8 | Hayat, Tasawar | Quaid-i-Azam University | Engineering | 3,379 | 9,577 |
| 9 | Naseer, T. | University of Lahore | Physics & Astronomy | 3,554 | 1,457 |
| 10 | Bilal, Muhammad Qamar | Bacha Khan University | Earth & Environmental Sciences | 3,709 | 7,371 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on Pakistan analytics.
What are Pakistan’s strongest fields?
Pakistan’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Chemistry with 170 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 170 |
| Clinical Medicine | 140 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 140 |
| Biology | 123 |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 118 |
Which institutions lead in Pakistan?
The largest institutional cohort in the Pakistan profile is Government College University Faisalabad (55 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Government College University Faisalabad | 55 |
| University of the Punjab | 49 |
| University of Agriculture, Faisalabad | 49 |
| Quaid-i-Azam University | 44 |
| National University of Sciences and Technology | 39 |
How has Pakistan’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, Pakistan moved from 243 listed scholars (2020) to 1,030 (2026) — a change of 787 (~+324%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 243 |
| 2021 | 380 |
| 2022 | 507 |
| 2023 | 707 |
| 2024 | 835 |
| 2025 | 940 |
| 2026 | 1,030 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 1,030 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 0.42% |
| Avg. citations | 1,333 |
| Avg. h-index | 14.4 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 235 |
| Distinct institutions | 209 |
| Leading field | Chemistry (170) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Bhutta, Zulfiqar A. (The Aga Khan University; Clinical Medicine). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore Pakistan on ABS Nexora
- Pakistan country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Bangladesh Top 2% directory 2026
- India Top 2% directory 2026
- Rising countries 2020–2026
- How to read country counts
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does Pakistan have in 2026? 1,030 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 0.42% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in Pakistan? Chemistry, with 170 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? Government College University Faisalabad, with 55 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did Pakistan grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 243 to 1,030 listed scholars (~+324%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among Pakistan’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Bhutta, Zulfiqar A. leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live Pakistan 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.