Most self-cited countries in the Top 2% Scientists list (2026)
ABS Nexora’s self-citation leaderboards rank countries by mean researcher self_citation_pct. In the 2026 single-year cohort, Uzbekistan leads at about 31.7%, ahead of Ukraine (~27.5%) and Azerbaijan (~26.2%) among cohorts of 5+ scholars.
Which countries have the highest average self-citation rates?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s native self-citation leaderboards for the 2026 single-year Top 2% cohort, countries are ranked by mean self_citation_pct across listed researchers (API field avg_self_citation_pct), with a minimum cohort size of 5. On that metric, Uzbekistan leads at about 31.71% (n=38), followed by Ukraine (~27.47%, n=136) and Azerbaijan (~26.17%, n=45). This is an average self-citation share among listed scholars, not a count of “most self-citations” in absolute citation volume.
What exactly is being ranked?
| Element | Directory definition |
|---|---|
| Per researcher | self_citation_pct from the Stanford–Ioannidis / Elsevier Top 2% indicators (ingest field self%) |
| Per country | Mean of those percentages → avg_self_citation_pct |
| Cohort filter | ≥ 5 listed researchers with non-null self-citation % (leaderboards endpoint) |
| Listing | Single-year, selected year 2026 |
High averages can appear in smaller national cohorts. Always read n (listed scholars) next to the percentage.
Top 10 countries by mean self-citation %
| Rank | Country | Listed scholars | Mean self-citation % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 38 | 31.71% |
| 2 | Ukraine | 136 | 27.47% |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 45 | 26.17% |
| 4 | Armenia | 13 | 25.80% |
| 5 | Montenegro | 5 | 24.87% |
| 6 | Algeria | 101 | 22.60% |
| 7 | Morocco | 185 | 21.94% |
| 8 | Iraq | 348 | 21.53% |
| 9 | Sudan | 10 | 21.48% |
| 10 | Russian Federation | 987 | 20.93% |
How do large systems compare?
Among major Directory cohorts, mean self-citation % is much lower than the leaderboard top: United States ~8.30% (n=73,459), United Kingdom ~8.60% (n=18,269), China ~9.80% (n=35,681), while Russian Federation ~20.93% (n=987) and Egypt ~18.73% (n=1,306) sit higher. See the deep-dive: high vs low self-citation countries.
Methodology caveats
- This ranks average self-citation share, not absolute self-citation counts.
- Small cohorts (e.g. Montenegro n=5) are more volatile than Egypt (n=1,306).
- Field mix and collaboration norms differ by country; do not treat the ranking as a misconduct list.
- Profiles also expose **ranks and citations with self-citations excluded (
*_ns)** — see self-citations vs total citations.
Explore the Directory
- Analytics workspace (self-citation views)
- Country pages: Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Russia, Egypt
- Related: Top self-citing researchers · How to interpret self-citation stats
FAQ
Which country is most self-cited in ABS Nexora’s 2026 snapshot? On mean self-citation % among listed scholars (min cohort 5), Uzbekistan (~31.71%) leads, then Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
Is this the same as “most citations are self-citations” for every author in that country? No — it is a country average. Individuals still vary widely (max self-citation % in Uzbekistan reaches ~93.24% in the same leaderboard payload).
Why isn’t the United States #1? The USA has the largest Top 2% cohort (73,459 scholars) but a low mean self-citation share (~8.30%) in this snapshot.
Where can I reproduce the ranking? Call Directory analytics /api/analytics/self-citation-leaderboards or sort countries by avg_self_citation_pct in rankings.
Does a high average mean research fraud? No. Use it as a bibliometric context signal alongside ranks excluding self-citations, field norms, and full profiles.