TEHRAN – The number of Iranian researchers included in the world’s top 2% of scientists has nearly doubled, rising from 1,154 in 2020 to 2,678 in 2026, according to Scopus data provided by Elsevier.
An analysis of the rankings shows a steady upward trend in the number of Iranian researchers recognized among the world’s top 2% of scientists over the past several years.
The number rose to 1,701 in 2021 and 1,941 in 2022, before increasing to 2,137 in 2023 and 2,514 in 2024. The figure reached 2,678 in 2026, ISNA reported.
The majority of Iranian researchers are from 30 universities and scientific centers; the University of Tehran, with 123 researchers, is placed first. Followed by Tehran University of Medical Sciences (112), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (75), and Iran University of Science and Technology (74).
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences with 66 researchers, Iran University of Medical Sciences with 64 researchers, University of Tabriz with 61 researchers, and Tarbiat Modares University with 56 researchers are placed fifth to eighth.
Also, the number of highly cited Iranian researchers in the career-long index has experienced threefold growth, rising from 433 in 2020 to 1,380 in 2026.
Some 794 out of 1,380 researchers, amounting to 57.5 percent, are from 30 universities and scientific centers. University of Tehran (with 91 researchers), Sharif University of Technology (53), Amirkabir University of Technology and Tehran University of Medical Sciences (each with 48 researchers), and Iran University of Science and Technology (45), University of Tabriz and Tarbiat Modares University (each with 40 researchers) rank first to fifth.
Stanford University’s list of “World’s Top 2%” scientists is based on a 2 percent or above percentile rank, or the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations). This prestigious list identifies the world’s leading researchers, representing approximately 2 percent of all scientists worldwide.
It encompasses standardised data on citations, h-index, and a wide range of bibliometric indicators. Researchers are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields, drawing from Scopus data provided by Elsevier through ICSR Lab.
The esteemed ranking, derived from Scopus database data, highlights researchers whose work has had a significant impact across various scientific disciplines.
The ranking is based on a composite indicator (c-score) calculated from six citation metrics: Total citations (NC), H-index (H), Hm-index (H-index adjusted for the number of authors), Citations to single-author papers (NCS), Citations to single or first-author papers (NCSF), Citations to single, first, or last-author papers (NCSFL).
The c-score combines these metrics to provide a comprehensive measure of a scientist’s impact, accounting for both the quantity and the quality of their contributions.
The list provides two separate rankings, each offering a different perspective on a researcher’s impact:
Career-long impact ranking: This evaluates a researcher’s cumulative citation performance over their entire career to date.
Single-year impact ranking: This focuses on the citation impact of research produced in the most recent year.
Iran ranks first in key scientific output among Islamic countries
Iran ranks first among Islamic nations in key fields of scientific output such as quantum science, cognitive sciences, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and advanced materials, the head of the Presidential Affairs Office at the Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) announced in August.
The country is in close competition with Turkey and Saudi Arabia in these fields, IRNA quoted Saeed Bakhtiari as saying.
He made the remarks in a press briefing on August 17, noting that the development of science in these fields has also been emphasized in national development plans.
Based on the reputable Web of Science database, Iran ranks first among Islamic countries in scientific output in some of these fields, while placing second or third in others. Overall, however, Iran holds the top position, he said.
Bakhtiari noted that in advanced materials—a multidisciplinary field spanning physics, chemistry, mechanics and materials science—Iran ranks second among Islamic countries and ninth worldwide.
He added that Iran ranks third in artificial intelligence, behind Saudi Arabia and Turkey, while in quantum science it ranks second, after Saudi Arabia.
The ISC official further said that Iran holds the top position among Islamic countries in scientific output in cognitive sciences and ranks first overall.
According to Web of Science (WoS) data, over a five-year period (from 2021 to 2025), Iran (with 32 documents) ranks first in cognitive sciences among Islamic countries.
Turkey, with 23 documents, and Saudi Arabia, with 22 documents, are placed second and third, respectively, IRNA reported.
From 2014 to 2023, Iran ranked either first or second in most fields of cognitive sciences among Islamic countries. Over the course of the decade, the country ranked first in cognitive neuroscience, cognitive rehabilitation, and cognitive linguistics with 387, 156, and 30 documents, respectively.
It ranked second in cognitive psychology (124 documents), cognitive education (561 documents), philosophy of mind (34 documents), and cognitive evaluation (898 documents). The country’s best ranking globally was in cognitive neuroscience; it ranked 15.
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, with 73 documents, University of Tehran, with 39 documents, and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, with 32 documents, ranked first to third in cognitive neuroscience. In cognitive psychology, University of Tehran(10 documents ), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (7 documents), and Allameh Tabatabai University (6 documents) were the top three universities.
In cognitive linguistics, University of Tehran (with 3 documents), Al-Zahra University (3 documents), Allameh Tabatabei University (2 documents ) ranked first to third. In cognitive education, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences were placed first to third, respectively.
In cognitive rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (21 documents), University of Tehran (16 documents), and Iran University of Medical Sciences (12 documents) ranked first to third. The best three universities in philosophy of mind were University of Tehran, Isfahan University, and Amirkabir University of Technology.
In cognitive evaluation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences ranked first with 196 documents. Iran University of Medical Sciences (105 documents) and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (91 documents) ranked second and third.
The country is placed second in quantum (with 216 documents) and advanced materials (with 5975 documents), after Saudi Arabia, with 283 and 6160 documents in quantum and advanced materials. Malaysia (with 154 documents) and Egypt (with 3151 documents) are placed third in quantum and advanced materials, respectively.
Despite illegal sanctions, Iran secures first place in cognitive sciences among Islamic nations and ranks ninth globally in advanced materials. Numerous prestigious Iranian universities and institutions are included in international rankings. These accomplishments underscore the country’s scientific capabilities, IRIB quoted Science Minister Hossein Simaei-Sarraf as saying, addressing the 7th Turkey Educational Technologies Summit (known as TETZ 2026), held in Istanbul from June 26 to 28.
Iran serves as a great opportunity to invest in higher education and modern technologies. The country has one of the largest higher education systems in the region, with more than three million students and over seventy thousand faculty members and researchers.
Highlighting that the rapid development of emerging technologies, including AI, is fundamentally transforming human relationships and higher education systems around the world at an unprecedented pace, Simaei-Sarraf said that effective use of smart technologies requires the establishment of a system based on algorithmic transparency, educational justice, accountability, protection of learners’ rights, and responsible data governance.
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