Netherlands in the Top 2% Scientists list 2026: 4,889 scholars, fields, and institutions
Live ABS Nexora analytics: Netherlands lists 4,889 Top 2% scientists in the 2026 single-year cohort (~1.98% of the SY analytics total), led by Clinical Medicine (1,954) and Wageningen University & Research (337).
How many Top 2% scientists are from Netherlands?
Direct answer: ABS Nexora’s latest single-year country profile for Netherlands (nld) lists 4,889 Top 2% scientists for selected year 2026 — about 1.98% of the Directory’s single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers). Average citations in this snapshot are about 1,405, with average h-index near 14.7, across 474 distinct institutions.
The Netherlands punches above its population size: high average citations in this snapshot and concentrated strength at Utrecht, Amsterdam, Erasmus MC, and Wageningen, with Clinical Medicine leading.
Low Countries / NW Europe: Belgium, Germany, and United Kingdom.
Who are the top 10 Top 2% scientists in Netherlands?
Direct answer: In ABS Nexora’s Netherlands country profile (nld, single-year 2026), the top 10 listed scholars by Directory ranking start with Bakker, Arnold Bastiaan (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam; Economics & Business; global rank 30; ~16,722 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 | Bakker, Arnold Bastiaan | Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam | Economics & Business | 30 | 16,722 |
| 2 | Clevers, Hans C. | University Medical Center Utrecht | Biomedical Research | 46 | 17,148 |
| 3 | Schaufeli, Wilmar B. | Universiteit Utrecht | Economics & Business | 89 | 10,697 |
| 4 | Henseler, Jörg | Universiteit Twente | Economics & Business | 101 | 14,530 |
| 5 | Cuijpers, Pim C. | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | Clinical Medicine | 149 | 13,221 |
| 6 | Borsboom, Denny | Universiteit van Amsterdam | Psychology & Cognitive Sciences | 156 | 9,117 |
| 7 | Demerouti, Evangelia | Technische Universiteit Eindhoven | Economics & Business | 207 | 9,698 |
| 8 | Viechtbauer, Wolfgang | Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences | Clinical Medicine | 208 | 5,716 |
| 9 | Koper, Marc T.M. | Leiden Institute of Chemistry | Chemistry | 211 | 9,480 |
| 10 | Sheldon, Roger A. | Laboratory of Organic Chemistry and Catalysis, Delft | Chemistry | 229 | 3,173 |
Open any linked name for the full Directory scholar profile. Country order follows the live top_researchers panel on Netherlands analytics.
What are Netherlands’s strongest fields?
Netherlands’s largest Top 2% field cohort is Clinical Medicine with 1,954 listed scholars. The next fields in the live profile are:
| Field | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Clinical Medicine | 1,954 |
| Biomedical Research | 414 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 314 |
| Engineering | 309 |
| Social Sciences | 238 |
Which institutions lead in Netherlands?
The largest institutional cohort in the Netherlands profile is Wageningen University & Research (337 listed scholars). Other leading affiliations:
| Institution | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| Wageningen University & Research | 337 |
| Universiteit van Amsterdam | 305 |
| Universiteit Utrecht | 209 |
| Erasmus MC | 207 |
| Rijksuniversiteit Groningen | 200 |
How has Netherlands’s Top 2% cohort changed from 2020 to 2026?
In the country-profile timeline, Netherlands moved from 3,479 listed scholars (2020) to 4,889 (2026) — a change of 1,410 (~+41%).
| Edition year | Listed scholars |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3,479 |
| 2021 | 3,943 |
| 2022 | 4,212 |
| 2023 | 4,287 |
| 2024 | 4,535 |
| 2025 | 4,727 |
| 2026 | 4,889 |
Snapshot metrics (single-year 2026)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Listed scholars | 4,889 |
| Share of global (SY analytics) | 1.98% |
| Avg. citations | 1,405 |
| Avg. h-index | 14.7 |
| Best rank (in profile) | 30 |
| Distinct institutions | 474 |
| Leading field | Clinical Medicine (1,954) |
One highly ranked profile example in this snapshot: Bakker, Arnold Bastiaan (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam; Economics & Business). Rankings shift with listing type and year — always verify on the live Directory.
Explore Netherlands on ABS Nexora
- Netherlands country analytics
- Directory search (filter by country / institution)
- Full analytics dashboard
- 2026 edition explained
- How to read country counts
Related country insights
- Belgium Top 2% directory 2026
- Germany Top 2% directory 2026
- Denmark Top 2% directory 2026
- How to read country counts
FAQ
How many Top 2% scientists does Netherlands have in 2026? 4,889 listed scholars in ABS Nexora’s single-year country profile for selected year 2026.
What share of the global list is that? About 1.98% of the single-year country-analytics cohort (~247,376 researchers in the matching dashboard snapshot).
Which field is strongest in Netherlands? Clinical Medicine, with 1,954 listed scholars in the live profile.
Which institution has the most listed scholars? Wageningen University & Research, with 337 in this snapshot (affiliation coding follows the underlying dataset).
Did Netherlands grow between 2020 and 2026? Yes — from 3,479 to 4,889 listed scholars (~+41%) in the country timeline.
Who ranks highest among Netherlands’s Top 2% scientists? In this snapshot, Bakker, Arnold Bastiaan leads the country top_researchers list (see the top-10 table above for linked profiles).
Where can I verify these figures? Open the live Netherlands 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.