Discover the Highly Cited Researchers 2024 list, recognizing the world’s most influential scientists and social scientists, and the rigorous analysis behind their selection.
Since 2014 , the annual list of Highly Cited Researchers™ has revealed individuals, institutions and nations demonstrating the greatest attention in the scientific and scholarly literature during the previous decade.
The list relies primarily on citation frequency, focusing on papers ranking in the top 1% for field and publication year, along with the authors of those papers. In other words, we take a top cut of papers garnering the most citations and compile a list of those researchers who published the largest number of highly cited publications by field.
A citation distribution is highly skewed, as are many measures of attention and achievement, with only a few individuals reaching extreme levels. Our list of about 6,600 researchers represents roughly a one in 1,000 selection of the global researcher population.
A global perspective
Our analysis of this year’s list provides valuable insights into the global landscape of leading research talent and identifies trends across countries, regions and institutions. It highlights that the United States remains home to the greatest number of researchers, 2,507 or 36.4% of the 6,886 total designations, and that Mainland China, in second place has demonstrated a notable increase, with 1,405 researchers listed, accounting for 20.4% of world share.
The top 20 institutions named also underscore Mainland China’s ascent, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which is ranked first with 308 awards, ahead of Harvard University, the second ranked institution with 231 awards. Of course these are distinct types of institutions: CAS is a large network of government laboratories, while Harvard is a single institution. The Max Planck Society, ranked ninth with 56 awards, more resembles CAS, as does the U.S. National Institutes of Health, with 90 awards and ranked fifth. Among the top 20 institutions, the United States holds 12 positions, Mainland China four, the United Kingdom two and Hong Kong SAR and Germany one apiece.
Several institutions made notable double-digit improvements in rank from 2023 to 2024, all in the Asia Pacific region. Zhejiang University climbed 20 places, rising from thirty-second last year to twelfth (tie). Peking University also rose to twelfth (tie), up 13 places from twenty-fifth. Within the top 50 the City University of Hong Kong rose 15 places, from forty-fourth to twenty-ninth. A more detailed analysis can be found here.
Raising the bar for accuracy and integrity
In recent years, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)™ analysts have had to incorporate many qualitative checks and filters to our quantitative publication and citation data to ensure that our list provides accurate and valid identification of scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated global influence. These are in response to our observation of various questionable publishing practices, including citation exchanges within restricted groups of researchers alongside the well-documented increase in levels of citation manipulation.
As our methods have become more sophisticated, this has led to the exclusion of some 300 individuals from the 2021 list, 500 in 2022, about 1,000 in 2023 and slightly more than 2,000 this year. These checks and filters span a spectrum: from examination of the origins of citations to Highly Cited Papers™, to verify whether they stem from a narrow or regional group or represent global uptake and influence, to identification of researchers and their co-authors involved in misconduct of many kinds – particularly those engaged in publishing and citation practices that depart from traditional norms. We will continue to improve our methodology to maintain the reliability and integrity of future Highly Cited Researchers lists and we continue to welcome feedback from our colleagues in the research community to help us improve our annual program.
Ensuring accurate representation of researchers
In today’s interconnected and highly mobile academic world, many researchers maintain affiliations that span multiple institutions. This complexity adds a unique challenge to accurately identify primary affiliations for the researchers named to our program.
At Clarivate™, we recognize the genuine complexity of these affiliations, so each year, we ask candidates of the Highly Cited Researchers program to verify their affiliations before the list is finalized. This essential step helps us ensure our data is as precise and up-to-date as possible.
Our published list reflects a blend of information: contact details from the researchers’ Highly Cited Papers over an 11-year window, combined with updates requested directly by the researchers themselves. However, to maintain the credibility and consistency of our program, this year, we have applied clearer standards to what we define as a primary affiliation. This is where they reside, conduct the majority of their work and typically hold a permanent tenured position or long-term contract. We can see these locations by examining the affiliations on a researcher’s more recent publications.
While the pursuit of highly cited status brings immense prestige, it can also create incentives for researchers to acquire additional affiliations through fellowship programs or honorary roles. Although such affiliations might hold personal or professional significance, they do not meet the criteria for a primary affiliation unless it is evident that the researcher resides and works there permanently. For this reason, honorary or fellowship-based affiliations are excluded from our rankings of nations and institutions. This year, we’ve introduced additional affiliation checks for complex cases, often involving requests for further evidence from institutional contacts. These extra measures reinforce our commitment to transparency and reliability in how researchers and their institutions are represented.
A commitment to excellence
In a world where data are increasingly at risk of being distorted and trust is a critical priority, we remain steadfast in our commitment to maintaining the integrity of the research landscape. The trust placed in the Highly Cited Researchers list is something we take seriously and we will continue to rigorously uphold the standards that define it. While the increasing challenges posed by manipulation and misconduct are significant, we are determined to lead by example. We will refine our processes, expand our checks and work closely with the research community to ensure that the highest standards of scholarship are recognized.
Learn more about this year’s Highly Cited Researchers, our evaluation and selection criteria, 2024 analysis and researcher spotlights on our website.
Related insights
The latest news, technologies, and resources from our team.
