Saudi Arabia in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 2,682 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: Saudi Arabia lists 2,682 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~1.08% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (464) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (248).
How many Top 2% scientists are from Saudi Arabia?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for Saudi Arabia (sau) lists 2,682 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 1.08% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,142, with average h-index near 13.7, across 146 distinct institutions.
Saudi Arabia is among the fastest-expanding Gulf research systems in this timeline (~+380% from 2020 to 2026), with Clinical Medicine, Enabling & Strategic Technologies, and ICT nearly tied at the top of the field mix.
Compare growth stories in Rising countries 2020–2026 and Asia-Pacific peers such as Malaysia.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in Saudi Arabia?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s Saudi Arabia country profile (sau, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Schmidhuber, Jürgen U. (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Information & Communication Technologies; global rank 68; ~20,904 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 | Schmidhuber, Jürgen U. | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology | Information & Communication Technologies | 68 | 20,904 |
| 2 | Dwivedi, Yogesh K. | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | Information & Communication Technologies | 94 | 19,738 |
| 3 | Duarte, C. M. | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology | Biology | 169 | 12,412 |
| 4 | Saleh, Tawfik A. | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 230 | 5,200 |
| 5 | Ali, Hafiz Muhammad | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 770 | 5,313 |
| 6 | Abdeljawad (Maraaba) T., Thabet | Prince Sultan University | Mathematics & Statistics | 785 | 4,610 |
| 7 | Yaseen, Zaher Mundher | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | Engineering | 1,168 | 5,455 |
| 8 | Wada, Yoshihide | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology | Earth & Environmental Sciences | 1,456 | 7,995 |
| 9 | Raihan, Asif | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | Earth & Environmental Sciences | 1,460 | 1,631 |
| 10 | Alothman, Zeid A. | King Saud University | Chemistry | 1,463 | 4,853 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on Saudi Arabia analytics.
What are Saudi Arabia’s strongest fields?
Saudi Arabia’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 464 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 464 |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 460 |
| Information & Communication Technologies | 455 |
| Chemistry | 429 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 238 |
Which institutions lead in Saudi Arabia?
The largest institutional cohort in the Saudi Arabia profile is King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (248 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals | 248 |
| King Saud University | 225 |
| King Abdullah University of Science and Technology | 180 |
| King Khalid University | 133 |
| College of Sciences | 114 |
How has Saudi Arabia’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, Saudi Arabia moved from 556 listed scholars (2020) to 2,682 (2026) — a change of 2,126 (~+382%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 556 |
| 2021 | 867 |
| 2022 | 1,017 |
| 2023 | 1,318 |
| 2024 | 1,682 |
| 2025 | 2,110 |
| 2026 | 2,682 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 2,682 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 1.08% |
| Avg. citations | 1,142 |
| Avg. h-index | 13.7 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 68 |
| Distinct institutions | 146 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (464) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Schmidhuber, Jürgen U. (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Information & Communication Technologies). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore Saudi Arabia on ABS Nexora
- Saudi Arabia country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Rising countries 2020–2026
- India Top 2% directory 2026
- China Top 2% directory 2026
- How to read country counts
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does Saudi Arabia have in 2026? 2,682 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 1.08% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in Saudi Arabia? Clinical Medicine, with 464 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, with 248 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did Saudi Arabia grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 556 to 2,682 listed scholars (~+382%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among Saudi Arabia’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Schmidhuber, Jürgen U. leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live Saudi Arabia 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.