Clarivate reveals trends in Highly Cited Researcher awards
A small fraction of the world’s research institutions account for a disproportionately large share of Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) awards, according to analysis from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI).
Although the top 70 institutions represent just 3.3% of all institutions appearing in the Highly Cited Researcher data, they account for 43.3% of all awards.
Since 2001 Clarivate has identified Highly Cited Researchers, an elite group of scientists and social scientists whose publications over the past decade have demonstrated significant global influence. Representing roughly 1 in 1,000 of the world’s active researchers across the biomedical, physical and social sciences, around 7,000 researcher awards are conferred each year using a combination of quantitative citation analysis and qualitative review.
In 2024, ISI highlighted 405 individuals who were selected every year between 2014 and 2024, either within specific fields or for cross-disciplinary contributions. That sustained record of recognition was described as statistically exceptional at the individual level.
The latest analysis shifts the focus from individuals to institutions. ISI identified 70 organisations that averaged a 0.3% share or more of the global Highly Cited Researcher population between 2021 and 2025. As in previous ISI studies, the list was determined by a data threshold rather than a pre-set ranking limit. In this case, a 0.3% share of the global HCR population established the cutoff, resulting in 70 qualifying institutions.
The concentration becomes more pronounced at higher thresholds. The top 21 institutions – each with a share of 0.7% or more, equivalent to around 50 or more awards per year – account for 23.2% of all Highly Cited Researcher awards.
At the highest level of concentration, six institutions each hold at least a 1% share of the global HCR population, collectively accounting for 12.1% of all awards. These are:
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (3.6%)
- Harvard University (3.2%)
- Stanford University (1.8%)
- U.S. National Institutes of Health (1.4%)
- Tsinghua University (1.1%)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1.0%)
Nearly half of the 70 institutions are in the United States (34). Mainland China is next with seven, while Australia and the United Kingdom each have six. The concentration becomes even stronger at the top of the rankings. Fourteen of the top 21 institutions are in the United States. The UK has three, and Mainland China has two.
The most significant shift over the past decade has been the rise of Mainland China, which has moved into second place globally by country. The Chinese Academy of Sciences now ranks first among institutions, and a growing number of Chinese universities are appearing near the top of the list. Tsinghua University leads this group, followed by Peking University, Zhejiang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The University of Hong Kong is now within the global top 20, on a level with institutions such as Cambridge, Columbia and the University of Washington.