A total of 83 nominations were received for the 2023 Holberg Prize before the nomination deadline of 15 June. Adjusted for invalid nominations and duplicates, there are a total of 65 valid candidates. This is somewhat lower than the period 2020-2022, both regarding nominations and the final number of candidates. 33% of the nominations have been made by nominators who have also previously nominated candidates for the prize, and 48% of the candidates have been nominated one or more times previously. Over one third of the nominations have a nominator and candidate from the same institution. 

Geographical distribution

Academic institutions in North America and Europe have the highest numbers of both nominators and candidates. This trend has been stable since the Holberg Prize was established in 2004. As the table below shows, the geographical distribution of candidates in 2023 is similar to the average for 2004-2023. It is important to note however, that the numbers reflect primary institutional affiliation and not country of birth or nationality. The table below shows the geographical distribution of candidates for 2023 compared with the average for 2004–2023. In this graph, Israel is categorized as Middle East, and Russia as Europe. 

The US is at the top of the list regarding both nominated candidates and nominators. The percentage of nominated candidates affiliated with institutions outside of North America and Europe has been stable at about 15%.  

Academic distribution

Compared to previous years, both "humanities" and "social sciences" (as broad categories) as well as "law" and "theology" are represented in a manner similar to the average. There has been an increase in the number of nominations in the category "other", which includes fields such as engineering. It should be noted that the below statistics refer to the total number of nominations, and not to the number of valid nominees. 

Looking at specific disciplines, "literary studies" has received the highest number of nominations, followed by "law", "history" and "philosophy". 

The process ahead

The Holberg Committee held their annual autumn meeting on Friday, 14 October, where they discussed the pool of candidates. Under the leadership of Committee Chair Heike Krieger, the Committee has now decided on a shortlist of candidates for the 2023 Holberg Prize. In the coming months, the secretariat will collect peer reports on each of the shortlisted candidates, in order to aid the committee members in their further deliberations. The Holberg Committee will convene again in January for a final round of discussion, before they decide on a recommendation to the Holberg Board. The next Holberg Laureate will be announced in mid-March 2023. 

Call for nominations for 2024