Switzerland in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 3,593 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: Switzerland lists 3,593 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~1.45% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (1,344) and ETH Zürich (544).
How many Top 2% scientists are from Switzerland?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for Switzerland (che) lists 3,593 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 1.45% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,261, with average h-index near 14, across 474 distinct institutions.
Switzerland concentrates elite research intensity at ETH Zürich, Universität Zürich, and EPFL — a smaller absolute cohort than Germany or the UK, but with very high visibility per institution in Enabling & Strategic Technologies and Clinical Medicine.
Central Europe: Germany, Italy, and France.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in Switzerland?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s Switzerland country profile (che, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Grätzel, Michael (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Enabling & Strategic Technologies; global rank 71; ~16,923 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 | Grätzel, Michael | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 71 | 16,923 |
| 2 | Hanahan, Douglas A. | Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne | Clinical Medicine | 82 | 9,842 |
| 3 | Scrivener, Karen Louise | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | Built Environment & Design | 138 | 9,383 |
| 4 | Provis, John Lloyd | Paul Scherrer Institut | Built Environment & Design | 191 | 7,809 |
| 5 | Kor̈ner, Christian | Universität Basel | Biology | 438 | 3,343 |
| 6 | Siegrist, Michael | ETH Zürich | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 476 | 4,211 |
| 7 | Bibri, Simon Elias | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | Earth & Environmental Sciences | 557 | 2,827 |
| 8 | Lothenbach, Barbara | Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology | Built Environment & Design | 697 | 6,748 |
| 9 | Akdiş, Cezmi A. A. | Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research | Clinical Medicine | 760 | 7,109 |
| 10 | McLennan, Scott M. | ETH Zürich | Earth & Environmental Sciences | 809 | 4,230 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on Switzerland analytics.
What are Switzerland’s strongest fields?
Switzerland’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 1,344 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 1,344 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 378 |
| Biomedical Research | 355 |
| Information & Communication Technologies | 217 |
| Chemistry | 202 |
Which institutions lead in Switzerland?
The largest institutional cohort in the Switzerland profile is ETH Zürich (544 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| ETH Zürich | 544 |
| Universität Zürich | 316 |
| École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | 250 |
| Université de Genève | 174 |
| University of Bern | 163 |
How has Switzerland’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, Switzerland moved from 2,620 listed scholars (2020) to 3,593 (2026) — a change of 973 (~+37%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,620 |
| 2021 | 3,011 |
| 2022 | 3,230 |
| 2023 | 3,310 |
| 2024 | 3,403 |
| 2025 | 3,548 |
| 2026 | 3,593 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 3,593 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 1.45% |
| Avg. citations | 1,261 |
| Avg. h-index | 14 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 71 |
| Distinct institutions | 474 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (1,344) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Grätzel, Michael (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Enabling & Strategic Technologies). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore Switzerland on ABS Nexora
- Switzerland country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Germany Top 2% directory 2026
- Netherlands Top 2% directory 2026
- Sweden Top 2% directory 2026
- Top countries overview
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does Switzerland have in 2026? 3,593 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 1.45% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in Switzerland? Clinical Medicine, with 1,344 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? ETH Zürich, with 544 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did Switzerland grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 2,620 to 3,593 listed scholars (~+37%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among Switzerland’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Grätzel, Michael leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live Switzerland 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.