A Worldwide Analysis of Top Scientists across Scientific Fields

The scientific impact and rankings are considered important metrics for determining national recognition and prestige, as well as for determining scientific priorities and funding. This paper analyzes the distribution of leading scientists across all scientific fields and countries, examining the similarity graphs between them. Our analysis also reveals further regional and continental patterns. By measuring the correlation between top scientists with GPD data, we show that the ratio of scientists maintains a high correlation with the GDP per capita. We also study the link between the scientific performances of a country (in terms of top research personnel it hosts) with its economic wealth. Finally, we analyze the case of Greece and show that the scientific impact of a country changes significantly when we take into consideration its scientific personnel that has migrated abroad (i.e., brain-drain).