A total of 1,034 scientists affiliated with Pakistani institutions have been included in the 2026 list of the world’s top 2% scientists, placing Pakistan 33rd globally by the number of researchers featured in the rankings.
The latest figures show a 9.3% increase from 946 Pakistani scientists in the 2025 edition. Since 2020, when 243 researchers from Pakistan appeared on the single-year list, the number has grown by 325.5%, according to data compiled from the Stanford University and Elsevier research rankings.
The rankings assess researchers using standardised citation indicators based on scientific publications and their influence in academic literature. The 2026 database includes separate assessments of research impact during a recent year and over an entire career.
The data are published through Elsevier’s science-wide author database, developed by a research team led by Stanford University scientist John P. A. Ioannidis. The dataset draws on Scopus author profiles and incorporates citation measures, co-authorship and authorship position.
Top 20 Pakistani Scientists in the 2026 Rankings
The following researchers lead the supplied Pakistan-specific list for 2026, alongside their reported institutional affiliations.
- Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta — The Aga Khan University
- Muhammad Ashraf — University of Lahore
- Salim Shahbuddin Virani — The Aga Khan University
- Ayesha Kausar — National Center for Physics
- Muhammad Sajid — University of Management and Technology, Lahore
- Muhammad Akram — University of the Punjab
- Jawad Abbas — University of Central Punjab
- Tasawar Hayat — Quaid-i-Azam University
- Muhammad Qamar Bilal — Bacha Khan University
- Haroon Khan — Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan
- Faisal Zulfiqar — The Islamia University of Bahawalpur
- Rahmat Ellahi — International Islamic University, Islamabad
- Shah Fahad — Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan
- Muhammad Shahid Rizwan — Government College University Faisalabad
- Shafaqat M. Ali — Government College University Faisalabad
- Muhammad Ramzan Saeed Ashraf Janjua — Government College University Faisalabad
- Muhammad Bilal Tahir — Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology
- Muhammad Azam — Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan
- Abdur Rauf — University of Sahiwal
- Usman Mehmood — University of Management and Technology, Lahore
These positions reflect the order in the supplied Pakistan list, rather than a ranking of the researchers’ overall scientific contributions across every discipline.
Government College University Faisalabad Leads Institutions
Government College University Faisalabad has the highest number of researchers on Pakistan’s 2026 single-year list, with 56 scientists included.
The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, follows with 50 researchers. Other institutions with substantial representation include the University of the Punjab, Quaid-i-Azam University and the National University of Sciences and Technology.
The institutional figures indicate the breadth of Pakistani research represented in the database, spanning disciplines such as medicine, agriculture, engineering, chemistry, physics and environmental sciences.
The number of listed researchers reflects affiliations recorded in the dataset and should not be interpreted as a complete measure of a university’s research output or overall academic standing.
Pakistan Has 321 Scientists on the Career-Long List
In addition to the single-year rankings, 321 scientists affiliated with Pakistani institutions appear on the 2026 career-long impact list.
The two lists measure different periods of research influence. The single-year assessment focuses on citations received during the latest year covered by the dataset, while the career-long assessment considers citation impact accumulated over a researcher’s career.
According to the Pakistan rankings database, the career-long total increased from 268 in 2025 to 321 in 2026, a rise of approximately 19.8%.
The distinction is important because a researcher may appear on one list, both lists or neither, depending on their citation indicators and field-specific position.
How the Stanford-Elsevier Rankings Are Compiled
The Stanford-Elsevier database uses a composite citation indicator that incorporates total citations, the h-index, a co-authorship-adjusted hm-index and information about authorship position. It also provides citation measures calculated with and without self-citations.
Researchers qualify through specified thresholds in the overall composite ranking or within their scientific subfield. The methodology is designed to improve comparisons across disciplines, although citation-based rankings remain one measure of research influence rather than a complete assessment of academic quality.
For Pakistan, the increase to 1,034 scientists on the 2026 single-year list represents a substantial rise in the number of researchers meeting the database’s selection criteria.
The figures provide a snapshot of citation-based research impact associated with Pakistani institutions and offer a basis for tracking changes across subsequent editions.
