Clarivate Announces Highly Cited Researchers 2025 List

Rhea-AI Summary

Clarivate (NYSE:CLVT) released the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list on November 12, 2025, recognizing 6,868 individuals with 7,131 awards from 1,300+ institutions in 60 countries.

Key metrics: the U.S. leads with 2,670 awards (37%); Mainland China second with 1,406 awards (20%); Chinese Academy of Sciences tops institutions with 258 awards. The program added scrutiny in 2025 and excluded 432 potential awards for hyper-prolific publication; Mathematics was reintroduced.

Positive

• 7,131 awards recognizing 6,868 individuals
• U.S. leads with 2,670 awards (37%)
• Chinese Academy of Sciences 258 awards (top institution)
• Program added enhanced screening; Mathematics reintroduced

Negative

• 432 potential awards excluded due to hyper-prolific publication
• Highly cited awards remain concentrated: 86% in top 10 countries

Celebrating exceptional, community-wide excellence, based on rigorous evaluation and selection

LONDON, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, today released the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list. This annual list recognizes researchers whose contributions have demonstrated broad and significant influence in their fields.

Analysts from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) at Clarivate recognized 6,868 individuals with 7,131 awards* from more than 1,300 institutions in 60 countries and regions. The rigorous evaluation and selection process draws on data from the Web of Science Core Collection, and uses quantitative metrics and qualitative analysis to identify individuals whose work has had a genuine, global influence on their fields.

The list offers valuable insights into the global landscape of top research talent and identifies trends across countries, regions and institutions. The United States is the world leader, while Mainland China and the United Kingdom maintain their respective second and third positions on the list.

Bar Veinstein, President of Academia & Government at Clarivate, said: "We celebrate the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 for advancing innovation and inspiring the global research community to tackle society's greatest challenges with creativity and ingenuity. As research environments become more complex, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity by continuing to strengthen the foundations of our Highly Cited Researchers program."

A snapshot of the global research landscape in 2025 shows:

• The U.S. leads globally with 2,670 awards, making up 37% of the global total—a modest increase from last year that reverses a previous downward trend.
• One in five awards is designated to researchers based in Mainland China. It holds second place with 1,406 awards (20%), showing growth in absolute numbers but a slight decrease in world share. Among all institutions globally, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is the top institution with 258 awards.
• The U.K. ranks third with 570 awards (8%), followed by Germany (363), Australia (312), and Canada (227).
• Switzerland returns to the top 10, while Hong Kong SAR continues to grow its number of awards, rising from 134 in 2024 to 145 this year, claiming a 2% share of the global total.
• This year's Highly Cited Researchers work in 60 countries and regions, yet 86% of awards are concentrated in just 10 of them − and 75% in the first five. This highlights a remarkable concentration of top global research talent.
• Among the 3,562 researcher awards* in the 21 Essential Science Indicators (ESI) fields, 227 individuals appear in two or more ESI fields and 31 appear in three or more fields. This year, there are 3,569 recipients of cross-field awards.

Figure 1: Top 10 countries/regions by number of Highly Cited Researcher awards

Rank	Country/Region	Number of Highly Cited Researcher 2025 awards	Global Share (%)	Change in global share from 2024
1	U.S.	2670	37.4	1.0
2	China Mainland	1406	19.7	-0.7
3	U.K.	570	8	-0.2
4	Germany	363	5.1	0.3
5	Australia	312	4.4	-0.1
6	Canada	227	3.2	0.2
7	Netherlands	194	2.7	0.0
8	Hong Kong SAR	145	2.0	0.1
9	Switzerland	130	1.8	0.3
10	France	121	1.7	-0.2

Figure 2: Top 10 homes to Highly Cited Researcher awards

Rank	Organization name	Country/region	Number of Highly Cited Researcher 2025 awards
1	Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)	China Mainland	258
2	Harvard University	U.S.	170
3	Stanford University	U.S.	141
4	Tsinghua University	China Mainland	91
5	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	U.S.	85
6	National Institutes of Health (NIH)	U.S.	84
7	Max Planck Society	Germany	66
8	University of Oxford	U.K.	59
8	University of Pennsylvania	U.S.	59
8	University College London	U.K.	59

In an era when the credibility of scientific literature faces growing scrutiny, the Highly Cited Researchers program has continuously evolved to integrate robust checks. In 2025, the program added additional layers of scrutiny, ensuring that the list meets the needs of the community by honoring individual achievement for broad and significant influence while reinforcing the values that underpin meaningful and responsible research.

The full Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list, analysis and evaluation and selection policy are available here.

Follow us on social media: @ClarivateAG / Clarivate for Academia & Government / #HighlyCited2025.

* The number of awards exceeds the number of unique individuals because some researchers are recognized in more than one Essential Science Indicators (ESI) field of research. Our analysis of countries/regions and institutions counts designated awards and is thus based on the total of 7,131.

Highly Cited Researchers 2025 evaluation, selection and publication process

The Highly Cited Researchers program continues to evolve, with enhanced screening processes to address issues such as hyper-prolific authorship, excessive self-citation, and anomalous citation patterns. This year, 432 potential awards were excluded due to hyper-prolific publication. The evaluation process applies robust algorithmic analysis and qualitative expert review, ensuring that only those whose work meets the highest standards of impact and integrity are recognized. The additional layers of scrutiny added this year enabled the reintroduction of the Mathematics category. For more information about our evaluation and selection process, please see here.

About Clarivate
Clarivate is a leading global provider of transformative intelligence. We offer enriched data, insights & analytics, workflow solutions and expert services in the areas of Academia & Government, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences & Healthcare. For more information, please visit www.clarivate.com

Media contact:
Helen Chung-Kesl, Manager, External Communications, Academia & Government
newsroom@clarivate.com 

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SOURCE Clarivate Plc

FAQ

What did Clarivate announce on November 12, 2025 about Highly Cited Researchers (CLVT)?

Clarivate published the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list recognizing 6,868 individuals with 7,131 awards across 60 countries.

How many Highly Cited Researcher awards did the U.S. receive in 2025 (CLVT)?

The U.S. received 2,670 awards, representing 37% of the global total.

Which organization had the most Highly Cited Researcher awards in 2025 (CLVT)?

Chinese Academy of Sciences led institutions with 258 awards.

Did Clarivate change the Highly Cited Researchers methodology in 2025 (CLVT)?

Yes; Clarivate added enhanced screening for hyper-prolific authors, self-citation and anomalous patterns.

How many potential awards were excluded from the 2025 list (CLVT)?

Clarivate excluded 432 potential awards due to hyper-prolific publication patterns.

How concentrated are Highly Cited Researcher awards globally in 2025 (CLVT)?

Awards are concentrated: 86% in the top 10 countries and 75% in the top five.