Spain in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 4,408 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: Spain lists 4,408 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~1.78% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (1,237) and Universitat de Barcelona (165).
How many Top 2% scientists are from Spain?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for Spain (esp) lists 4,408 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 1.78% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,259, with average h-index near 13.8, across 670 distinct institutions.
Spain’s cohort is Clinical Medicine–dominated, with Barcelona, Valencia, Complutense, and Granada among the densest affiliations and solid Physics and Engineering secondary cohorts.
Iberian / Southern Europe: Italy and France.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in Spain?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s Spain country profile (esp, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Penuelas, Josep J. (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Biology; global rank 125; ~20,313 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 | Penuelas, Josep J. | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas | Biology | 125 | 20,313 |
| 2 | Corma, Avelino | CSIC-UPV - Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ) | Chemistry | 227 | 7,827 |
| 3 | Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J. | Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona | Biomedical Research | 278 | 9,753 |
| 4 | Slater, Mel | Universitat de Barcelona | Information & Communication Technologies | 424 | 4,511 |
| 5 | Herrera, Francisco P. | Instituto Andaluz Interuniversitario en Data Science and Computational Intelligence | Information & Communication Technologies | 463 | 12,857 |
| 6 | Armand, Michel B. | CIC energigune | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 549 | 8,415 |
| 7 | Robins, James M. | Glovo | Mathematics & Statistics | 559 | 4,911 |
| 8 | Llovet, Josep M. | Universitat de Barcelona | Clinical Medicine | 566 | 12,163 |
| 9 | Dijk van, Teun A. | Centre of Discourse Studies | Communication & Textual Studies | 584 | 1,759 |
| 10 | Esteller, Manel B. | Universitat de Barcelona | Clinical Medicine | 654 | 5,092 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on Spain analytics.
What are Spain’s strongest fields?
Spain’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 1,237 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 1,237 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 447 |
| Biomedical Research | 424 |
| Chemistry | 422 |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 325 |
Which institutions lead in Spain?
The largest institutional cohort in the Spain profile is Universitat de Barcelona (165 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Universitat de Barcelona | 165 |
| Universitat de València | 124 |
| Universidad Complutense de Madrid | 119 |
| Universidad de Granada | 109 |
| Universidad del Pais Vasco | 108 |
How has Spain’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, Spain moved from 2,766 listed scholars (2020) to 4,408 (2026) — a change of 1,642 (~+59%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,766 |
| 2021 | 3,401 |
| 2022 | 3,712 |
| 2023 | 3,736 |
| 2024 | 4,007 |
| 2025 | 4,265 |
| 2026 | 4,408 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 4,408 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 1.78% |
| Avg. citations | 1,259 |
| Avg. h-index | 13.8 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 125 |
| Distinct institutions | 670 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (1,237) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Penuelas, Josep J. (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Biology). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore Spain on ABS Nexora
- Spain country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Italy Top 2% directory 2026
- France Top 2% directory 2026
- Germany Top 2% directory 2026
- Rising countries 2020–2026
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does Spain have in 2026? 4,408 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 1.78% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in Spain? Clinical Medicine, with 1,237 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? Universitat de Barcelona, with 165 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did Spain grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 2,766 to 4,408 listed scholars (~+59%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among Spain’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Penuelas, Josep J. leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live Spain 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.