Country leaderboard
Countries by Nobel Laureates Born per Million People
Complete ranking of 234 countries • per million people • Data refreshed May 28, 2026
Leader
Faroe Islands
Field size
234 countries
Lowest rank
Zambia
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About Nobel Laureates Born per Million People Rankings
Faroe Islands leads all 234 countries in Nobel Laureates Born per Million People with a value of 18.89 per 1M people, while Zambia ranks last at 0 per 1M people. The gap between top and bottom reflects meaningful global variation.
What Nobel Laureates Born per Million People Measures
Nobel-related award recipients per million people, grouped by current country of birthplace from Wikidata and normalized by World Bank population.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Nobel Laureates Born per Million People across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.
Global Range
Values range from 0 per 1M people (Zambia) to 18.89 per 1M people (Faroe Islands) — an infinitely large difference across 234 countries.
Regional Patterns
European countries dominate this ranking, holding 16 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.
The distribution is highly right-skewed — a few countries have exceptionally high values that pull the average well above the median. The median (0 per 1M people) is far more representative than the mean (0.26 per 1M people).
Notable Outliers
Faroe Islands stands far above the rest, with a value 218% higher than second-place Saint Lucia. This extraordinary lead suggests unique national circumstances — geographic scale, resource endowment, or policy choices — that set it apart from even its closest competitors.
Continental Leaders
Highest Nobel Laureates Born per Million People
The 5 strongest Nobel Laureates Born per Million People reads.
Lowest Nobel Laureates Born per Million People
The 5 lowest Nobel Laureates Born per Million People reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from Wikidata, covering 234 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
Top 10 Countries
Country Ladder
1stFaroe IslandsEurope18.89 per 1M people2ndSaint LuciaNorth America5.9 per 1M people3rdLuxembourgEurope3.0 per 1M people4thIcelandEurope2.7 per 1M people5thSwedenEurope2.6 per 1M people6thSwitzerlandEurope2.1 per 1M people7thDenmarkEurope2.0 per 1M people8thAustriaEurope1.9 per 1M people9thNorwayEurope1.8 per 1M people10thUnited KingdomEurope1.5 per 1M people11thTimor-LesteAsia1.4 per 1M people12thHungaryEurope1.1 per 1M people13thLithuaniaEurope1.1 per 1M people14thGermanyEurope0.99 per 1M people15thIrelandEurope0.95 per 1M people16thFranceEurope0.86 per 1M people17thBelgiumEurope0.75 per 1M people18thUnited StatesNorth America0.72 per 1M people19thTrinidad and TobagoNorth America0.71 per 1M people20thPolandEurope0.67 per 1M people21stPalestineAsia0.60 per 1M people22ndNew ZealandOceania0.58 per 1M people23rdCzechiaEurope0.55 per 1M people24thBosnia and HerzegovinaEurope0.55 per 1M people25thFinlandEurope0.54 per 1M people26thIsraelAsia0.53 per 1M people27thLatviaEurope0.53 per 1M people28thSloveniaEurope0.48 per 1M people29thNorth MacedoniaEurope0.47 per 1M people30thCanadaNorth America0.43 per 1M people31stAustraliaOceania0.36 per 1M people32ndLiberiaAfrica0.36 per 1M people33rdBelarusEurope0.32 per 1M people34thItalyEurope0.31 per 1M people35thCroatiaEurope0.25 per 1M people36thJapanAsia0.24 per 1M people37thRomaniaEurope0.22 per 1M people38thPortugalEurope0.20 per 1M people39thCosta RicaNorth America0.19 per 1M people40thLebanonAsia0.19 per 1M people41stRussiaEurope0.19 per 1M people42ndSlovakiaEurope0.18 per 1M people43rdUkraineEurope0.17 per 1M people44thBulgariaEurope0.15 per 1M people45thSpainEurope0.15 per 1M people46thSouth AfricaAfrica0.15 per 1M people47thGuatemalaNorth America0.11 per 1M people48thChileSouth America0.10 per 1M people49thGreeceEurope0.10 per 1M people50thAzerbaijanEurope0.09 per 1M people51stArgentinaSouth America0.09 per 1M people52ndJordanAsia0.09 per 1M people53rdTunisiaAfrica0.08 per 1M people54thVenezuelaNorth America0.06 per 1M people55thSouth KoreaAsia0.06 per 1M people56thZimbabweAfrica0.06 per 1M people57thEgyptAfrica0.05 per 1M people58thAlgeriaAfrica0.04 per 1M people59thColombiaNorth America0.04 per 1M people60thTurkeyEurope0.04 per 1M people61stIranAsia0.03 per 1M people62ndMadagascarAfrica0.03 per 1M people63rdPeruSouth America0.03 per 1M people64thYemenAsia0.03 per 1M people65thGhanaAfrica0.03 per 1M people66thMoroccoAfrica0.03 per 1M people67thIraqAsia0.02 per 1M people68thMexicoNorth America0.02 per 1M people69thKenyaAfrica0.02 per 1M people70thMyanmarAsia0.02 per 1M people71stPakistanAsia0.02 per 1M people72ndTanzaniaAfrica0.01 per 1M people73rdVietnamAsia0.01 per 1M people74thCongo, Democratic RepublicAfrica0.01 per 1M people75thEthiopiaAfrica0.01 per 1M people76thPhilippinesAsia0.01 per 1M people77thChinaAsia0.01 per 1M people78thBangladeshAsia0.01 per 1M people79thBrazilSouth America0.01 per 1M people80thIndonesiaAsia0.00 per 1M people81stIndiaAsia0.00 per 1M people82ndNigeriaAfrica0.00 per 1M people83rdAndorraEurope0 per 1M people84thUnited Arab EmiratesAsia0 per 1M people85thAfghanistanAsia0 per 1M people86thAntigua and BarbudaNorth America0 per 1M people87thAnguillaNorth America0 per 1M people88thAlbaniaEurope0 per 1M people89thArmeniaEurope0 per 1M people90thAngolaAfrica0 per 1M people91stAmerican SamoaOceania0 per 1M people92ndArubaNorth America0 per 1M people93rdBarbadosNorth America0 per 1M people94thBurkina FasoAfrica0 per 1M people95thBahrainAsia0 per 1M people96thBurundiAfrica0 per 1M people97thBeninAfrica0 per 1M people98thSaint BarthélemyNorth America0 per 1M people99thBermudaNorth America0 per 1M people100thBruneiAsia0 per 1M people101stBoliviaSouth America0 per 1M people102ndBahamasNorth America0 per 1M people103rdBhutanAsia0 per 1M people104thBotswanaAfrica0 per 1M people105thBelizeNorth America0 per 1M people106thCocos (Keeling) IslandsOceania0 per 1M people107thCentral African RepublicAfrica0 per 1M people108thCongoAfrica0 per 1M people109thCôte d'IvoireAfrica0 per 1M people110thCook IslandsOceania0 per 1M people111stCameroonAfrica0 per 1M people112ndCubaNorth America0 per 1M people113rdCabo VerdeAfrica0 per 1M people114thCuraçaoNorth America0 per 1M people115thChristmas IslandOceania0 per 1M people116thCyprusEurope0 per 1M people117thDjiboutiAfrica0 per 1M people118thDominicaNorth America0 per 1M people119thDominican RepublicNorth America0 per 1M people120thEcuadorSouth America0 per 1M people121stEstoniaEurope0 per 1M people122ndEritreaAfrica0 per 1M people123rdFijiOceania0 per 1M people124thFalkland IslandsSouth America0 per 1M people125thMicronesiaOceania0 per 1M people126thGabonAfrica0 per 1M people127thGrenadaNorth America0 per 1M people128thGeorgiaEurope0 per 1M people129thGuernseyEurope0 per 1M people130thGibraltarEurope0 per 1M people131stGreenlandNorth America0 per 1M people132ndGambiaAfrica0 per 1M people133rdGuineaAfrica0 per 1M people134thEquatorial GuineaAfrica0 per 1M people135thGuamOceania0 per 1M people136thGuinea-BissauAfrica0 per 1M people137thGuyanaNorth America0 per 1M people138thHong KongAsia0 per 1M people139thHondurasNorth America0 per 1M people140thHaitiNorth America0 per 1M people141stIsle of ManEurope0 per 1M people142ndJerseyEurope0 per 1M people143rdJamaicaNorth America0 per 1M people144thKyrgyzstanAsia0 per 1M people145thCambodiaAsia0 per 1M people146thKiribatiOceania0 per 1M people147thComorosAfrica0 per 1M people148thSaint Kitts and NevisNorth America0 per 1M people149thNorth KoreaAsia0 per 1M people150thKuwaitAsia0 per 1M people151stCayman IslandsNorth America0 per 1M people152ndKazakhstanAsia0 per 1M people153rdLaosAsia0 per 1M people154thLiechtensteinEurope0 per 1M people155thSri LankaAsia0 per 1M people156thLesothoAfrica0 per 1M people157thLibyaAfrica0 per 1M people158thMonacoEurope0 per 1M people159thMoldovaEurope0 per 1M people160thMontenegroEurope0 per 1M people161stSaint MartinNorth America0 per 1M people162ndMarshall IslandsOceania0 per 1M people163rdMaliAfrica0 per 1M people164thMongoliaAsia0 per 1M people165thMacaoAsia0 per 1M people166thNorthern Mariana IslandsOceania0 per 1M people167thMauritaniaAfrica0 per 1M people168thMontserratNorth America0 per 1M people169thMaltaEurope0 per 1M people170thMauritiusAfrica0 per 1M people171stMaldivesAsia0 per 1M people172ndMalawiAfrica0 per 1M people173rdMalaysiaAsia0 per 1M people174thMozambiqueAfrica0 per 1M people175thNamibiaAfrica0 per 1M people176thNew CaledoniaOceania0 per 1M people177thNigerAfrica0 per 1M people178thNorfolk IslandOceania0 per 1M people179thNicaraguaNorth America0 per 1M people180thNetherlandsEurope0 per 1M people181stNepalAsia0 per 1M people182ndNauruOceania0 per 1M people183rdNiueOceania0 per 1M people184thOmanAsia0 per 1M people185thPanamaNorth America0 per 1M people186thFrench PolynesiaOceania0 per 1M people187thPapua New GuineaOceania0 per 1M people188thSaint Pierre and MiquelonNorth America0 per 1M people189thPitcairnOceania0 per 1M people190thPuerto RicoNorth America0 per 1M people191stPalauOceania0 per 1M people192ndParaguaySouth America0 per 1M people193rdQatarAsia0 per 1M people194thSerbiaEurope0 per 1M people195thRwandaAfrica0 per 1M people196thSaudi ArabiaAsia0 per 1M people197thSolomon IslandsOceania0 per 1M people198thSeychellesAfrica0 per 1M people199thSudanAfrica0 per 1M people200thSingaporeAsia0 per 1M people201stSaint HelenaAfrica0 per 1M people202ndSvalbard and Jan MayenEurope0 per 1M people203rdSierra LeoneAfrica0 per 1M people204thSan MarinoEurope0 per 1M people205thSenegalAfrica0 per 1M people206thSomaliaAfrica0 per 1M people207thSurinameNorth America0 per 1M people208thSouth SudanAfrica0 per 1M people209thSao Tome and PrincipeAfrica0 per 1M people210thEl SalvadorNorth America0 per 1M people211stSint MaartenNorth America0 per 1M people212ndSyriaAsia0 per 1M people213rdEswatiniAfrica0 per 1M people214thTurks and Caicos IslandsNorth America0 per 1M people215thChadAfrica0 per 1M people216thTogoAfrica0 per 1M people217thThailandAsia0 per 1M people218thTajikistanAsia0 per 1M people219thTokelauOceania0 per 1M people220thTurkmenistanAsia0 per 1M people221stTongaOceania0 per 1M people222ndTuvaluOceania0 per 1M people223rdTaiwanAsia0 per 1M people224thUgandaAfrica0 per 1M people225thUruguaySouth America0 per 1M people226thUzbekistanAsia0 per 1M people227thHoly SeeEurope0 per 1M people228thSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesNorth America0 per 1M people229thBritish Virgin IslandsNorth America0 per 1M people230thU.S. Virgin IslandsNorth America0 per 1M people231stVanuatuOceania0 per 1M people232ndWallis and FutunaOceania0 per 1M people233rdSamoaOceania0 per 1M people234thZambiaAfrica0 per 1M people
