Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list: US still tops the ranking, reversing its prior decline

The United States leads the list of highly cited researchers globally in 2025 with 2,670 awards (37.4%), according to the list published by Clarivate plc on 12/11/2025. This marks a 1% increase in world share for the US from 2024 and reverses its prior steady decline since 2018.

Mainland China remains in second place with 1,406 awards (19.7%), showing a slight rise in numbers but a 0.7% drop in global share from 2024 (20.4%). China’s share has more than doubled since 2018, reflecting strong long-term growth.

Among the top ten countries with the most highly cited researchers, Europe is represented by several strong performers. The United Kingdom ranks third once again, with 570 awards (8%), followed by Germany in fourth with 363. The Netherlands holds seventh place with 194, while Switzerland returns to the top ten at ninth with 130. France rounds out the list in tenth place with 121, having dropped one position from last year. Singapore, which ranked tenth previously, has fallen out of the top ten this year.

The institution that comes first in the list of the most highly cited…