Italy in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 8,537 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: Italy lists 8,537 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~3.45% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (3,710) and Università degli Studi di Padova (375).
How many Top 2% scientists are from Italy?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for Italy (ita) lists 8,537 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 3.45% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,247, with average h-index near 13.5, across 866 distinct institutions.
Italy’s Top 2% list is heavily Clinical Medicine–weighted, with a broad university network (Padova, Sapienza, Napoli Federico II, Bologna, Milano) and a visible Chemistry cohort at the top of national rankings.
Southern / Western Europe: Spain, France, and Germany.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in Italy?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s Italy country profile (ita, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Supuran, Claudiu T. (Università degli Studi di Firenze; Chemistry; global rank 219; ~9,748 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 | Supuran, Claudiu T. | Università degli Studi di Firenze | Chemistry | 219 | 9,748 |
| 2 | Mantovani, Alberto R. | Humanitas University | Clinical Medicine | 335 | 10,883 |
| 3 | Schunemann, Holger J. | Humanitas University | Clinical Medicine | 465 | 24,025 |
| 4 | Zio, Enrico E. | Politecnico di Milano | Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 670 | 5,577 |
| 5 | Barone, Vincenzo | INSTM | Physics & Astronomy | 726 | 5,773 |
| 6 | Beghi, Ettore | Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri | Clinical Medicine | 779 | 19,248 |
| 7 | Capozziello, Salvatore | Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II | Physics & Astronomy | 793 | 5,009 |
| 8 | Beck, Thorsten | European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole | Economics & Business | 795 | 3,326 |
| 9 | Danese, Silvio | Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele | Clinical Medicine | 812 | 12,169 |
| 10 | Chesbrough, Henry W. | LUISS University | Economics & Business | 931 | 2,043 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on Italy analytics.
What are Italy’s strongest fields?
Italy’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 3,710 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 3,710 |
| Engineering | 781 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 772 |
| Chemistry | 540 |
| Biomedical Research | 511 |
Which institutions lead in Italy?
The largest institutional cohort in the Italy profile is Università degli Studi di Padova (375 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Università degli Studi di Padova | 375 |
| Sapienza Università di Roma | 331 |
| Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II | 323 |
| Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna | 314 |
| Università degli Studi di Milano | 290 |
How has Italy’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, Italy moved from 4,745 listed scholars (2020) to 8,537 (2026) — a change of 3,792 (~+80%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 4,745 |
| 2021 | 6,124 |
| 2022 | 6,834 |
| 2023 | 7,094 |
| 2024 | 7,615 |
| 2025 | 7,992 |
| 2026 | 8,537 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 8,537 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 3.45% |
| Avg. citations | 1,247 |
| Avg. h-index | 13.5 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 219 |
| Distinct institutions | 866 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (3,710) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Supuran, Claudiu T. (Università degli Studi di Firenze; Chemistry). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore Italy on ABS Nexora
- Italy country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Spain Top 2% directory 2026
- Germany Top 2% directory 2026
- France Top 2% directory 2026
- Clinical Medicine fields lead
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does Italy have in 2026? 8,537 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 3.45% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in Italy? Clinical Medicine, with 3,710 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? Università degli Studi di Padova, with 375 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did Italy grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 4,745 to 8,537 listed scholars (~+80%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among Italy’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Supuran, Claudiu T. leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live Italy 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.