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South Africa University Rankings 2024

As described in the university ranking section, it is not easy to obtain and standardize data from 1 countries, 55 universities/ institutions for the country ranking. Therefore, we based our ranking system on the number of meritorious scientists. Four criteria are used to rank the countries. The first one is the number of scientists in the top 3 % list. The second criterion is the number of scientists in the top 10%, Top 20%, Top 40%, top 60% and top 80% list. The third one is the number of scientists listed in the AD Scientific Index. In the case of equalities after applying all these three criteria, the world rank of the meritorious scientist of that country is used. Click here to see the Top List of more than 200 countries and regions. Click for individual or institutional registration.

South Africa

Total 11.004 scientist, 1 country, 55 institution

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		AD Scientific Index - Country Rankings 2024							Number of World’s Top 3% in Scientists													Number of World’s Top 10% in Scientists
Region Ranking	World Ranking	Country	Best Institution in Country World Rank / Name		Best Scientist in Country World Rank / Name		Total Institutios in Country	Total Scientists in Index	Total number of scientists	Agriculture & Forestry	Arts, Design and Architecture	Business & Management	Economics & Econometrics	Education	Engineering & Technology	History, Philosophy, Theology	Law / Law and Legal Studies	Medical and Health Sciences	Natural Sciences	Social Sciences	Others	Total number of scientists	Agriculture & Forestry	Arts, Design and Architecture	Business & Management	Economics & Econometrics	Education	Engineering & Technology	History, Philosophy, Theology	Law / Law and Legal Studies	Medical and Health Sciences	Natural Sciences	Social Sciences	Others
1	30	South Africa	308	University of Cape Town	339	Sahal Yacoob ⁱ	55	11,004 Top 10000	131	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	7	12	0	110	575	34	1	3	6	1	60	2	1	106	85	17	259

Table I. Number of scientists in South Africa top 10.000 according to Country Click for details

#	Country	Country Region Rank	Country World Rank	Scientists in Top 10.000	Total University	Total Scientist
1	South Africa	1	30	10000	55	11004

Table II. General Universities in South Africa top 10.000 Click for details

#	University	Country Rank	Region Rank	World Rank	Country	Sources of Funding	Founded	Scientists in South Africa Top 10.000	Total Scientists in Index	Ratio (in top 10.000 / Total Scientist)
1	University of Cape Town	1	1	308	South Africa	Public	1874	1148	1191	0.964
2	Stellenbosch University	2	2	390	South Africa	Public	1918	978	1067	0.917
3	University of the Witwatersrand	3	3	417	South Africa	Public	1922	843	935	0.902
4	University of Kwazulu Natal	4	4	714	South Africa	Public	2004	770	819	0.940
5	University of Pretoria	5	5	810	South Africa	Public	1908	761	829	0.918
6	University of Johannesburg	6	6	897	South Africa	Public	2005	851	943	0.902
7	North West University	7	8	1116	South Africa	Public	2004	459	461	0.996
8	University of the Western Cape	8	11	1400	South Africa	Public	1959	364	381	0.955
9	Rhodes University	9	12	1441	South Africa	Public	1904	236	255	0.925
10	National Institute for Communicable Diseases	10	16	1521	South Africa	Institution	2002	53	56	0.946

Table III. Public Universities in South Africa top 10.000 Click for details

#	University	Country Rank	Region Rank	World Rank	Country	Founded	Scientists in South Africa Top 10.000	Total Scientists in Index	Ratio (in top 10.000 / Total Scientist)
1	University of Cape Town	1	1	308	South Africa	1874	1148	1191	0.964
2	Stellenbosch University	2	2	390	South Africa	1918	978	1067	0.917
3	University of the Witwatersrand	3	3	417	South Africa	1922	843	935	0.902
4	University of Kwazulu Natal	4	4	714	South Africa	2004	770	819	0.940
5	University of Pretoria	5	5	810	South Africa	1908	761	829	0.918
6	University of Johannesburg	6	6	897	South Africa	2005	851	943	0.902
7	North West University	7	8	1116	South Africa	2004	459	461	0.996
8	University of the Western Cape	8	11	1400	South Africa	1959	364	381	0.955
9	Rhodes University	9	12	1441	South Africa	1904	236	255	0.925
10	Nelson Mandela University	14	33	2012	South Africa	2005	166	187	0.888

Table IV. Private Universities in South Africa top 10.000 Click for details

#	University	Country Rank	Region Rank	World Rank	Country	Founded	Scientists in South Africa Top 10.000	Total Scientists in Index	Ratio (in top 10.000 / Total Scientist)
1	Belgium Campus Itversity	40	347	8909	South Africa	1999	4	4	1.000
2	Milpark Business School	47	733	14078	South Africa	1997	4	6	0.667
3	South African Theological Seminary	48	862	15970	South Africa	1996	2	6	0.333
4	George Whitefield College	52	1162	20747	South Africa	1989	2	4	0.500

Table V. Universities Founded After 2010 in South Africa Top 10.000 Click for details

#	University	Country Rank	Region Rank	World Rank	Country	Sources of Funding	Founded	Scientists in South Africa Top 10.000	Total Scientists in Index	Ratio (in top 10.000 / Total Scientist)
1	Africa Health Research Institute	13	28	1961	South Africa	Institution	2016	21	23	0.913
2	Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University	31	153	5178	South Africa	Public	2014	76	91	0.835
3	University of Mpumalanga	34	232	6899	South Africa	Public	2014	57	68	0.838
4	Sol Plaatje University	38	318	8467	South Africa	Public	2014	44	54	0.815

Table VI. Universities Founded After 2000 in South Africa Top 10.000 Click for details

#	University	Country Rank	Region Rank	World Rank	Country	Sources of Funding	Founded	Scientists in South Africa Top 10.000	Total Scientists in Index	Ratio (in top 10.000 / Total Scientist)
1	University of Kwazulu Natal	4	4	714	South Africa	Public	2004	770	819	0.940
2	University of Johannesburg	6	6	897	South Africa	Public	2005	851	943	0.902
3	North West University	7	8	1116	South Africa	Public	2004	459	461	0.996
4	National Institute for Communicable Diseases	10	16	1521	South Africa	Institution	2002	53	56	0.946
5	Africa Health Research Institute	13	28	1961	South Africa	Institution	2016	21	23	0.913
6	Nelson Mandela University	14	33	2012	South Africa	Public	2005	166	187	0.888
7	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	19	45	2469	South Africa	Public	2005	209	267	0.783
8	The Aurum Institute NPC	22	63	2989	South Africa	Institution	2002	5	5	1.000
9	Tshwane University of Technology	23	79	3495	South Africa	Public	2003	186	207	0.899
10	Durban University of Technology	24	80	3498	South Africa	Public	2002	133	173	0.769

Table VII A. South Africa Top 10 Productivity i10 Index Click for details

				AD Scientific Index - 2024 South Africa Table VII A. South Africa Top 10 Productivity i10 Index				H INDEX			i10 INDEX			CITATION
University	Country	Region	World	Name	Country	University	Subject	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total
1	1	3	374	Dan J Stein	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Psychiatry Anxiety disorders \| Psychiatry in Africa \|	169	116	0.686	1079	897	0.831	142136	83771	0.589
2	2	4	424	Sahal Yacoob	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Natural Sciences / Physics High Energy Particle Physics \|	209	154	0.737	1049	826	0.787	256633	129993	0.507
1	3	6	493	Mike Wingfield	South Africa	University of Pretoria	Agriculture & Forestry / Forestry forest protection \| mycology \| entomology \| biotechnology \|	121	76	0.628	1001	679	0.678	71996	34183	0.475
1	4	11	1496	Tebello Nyokong	South Africa	Rhodes University	Natural Sciences / Chemical Sciences Photophysics \|	84	40	0.476	686	458	0.668	32987	13511	0.410
1	5	12	1571	Fernando Albericio	South Africa	University of Kwazulu Natal	Natural Sciences / Chemical Sciences medicinal chemistry \| peptides \|	98	62	0.633	670	383	0.572	44176	18710	0.424
1	6	13	1698	Bruce Mellado	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Physics Particle Physics \|	145	105	0.724	648	473	0.730	108764	52872	0.486
1	7	14	1859	Loan Truong	South Africa	University of Johannesburg	Natural Sciences / Physics HEP \| LHC \| ATLAS \|	171	153	0.895	623	618	0.992	116869	92527	0.792
2	8	15	1879	Rangan Gupta	South Africa	University of Pretoria	Economics & Econometrics / Economics Macroecomomics \| forecasting \|	82	74	0.902	621	503	0.810	31771	25442	0.801
1	9	18	2061	Karl Peltzer	South Africa	Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa	Medical and Health Sciences / Health Sciences health sciences \|	87	68	0.782	597	433	0.725	37860	22567	0.596
1	10	20	2513	HC Swart	South Africa	University of the Free State	Natural Sciences / Physics nanophosphors \| luminescence \| cathodoluminescence \| surface characterization \|	65	53	0.815	547	444	0.812	22095	15626	0.707

Table VII B. South Africa Top 10 Last 5 Years i10 Index Click for details

				AD Scientific Index - 2024 South Africa Table VII B. South Africa Top 10 Last 5 Years i10 Index				H INDEX			i10 INDEX			CITATION
University	Country	Region	World	Name	Country	University	Subject	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total
1	1	4	289	Dan J Stein	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Psychiatry Anxiety disorders \| Psychiatry in Africa \|	169	116	0.686	1079	897	0.831	142136	83771	0.589
2	2	7	382	Sahal Yacoob	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Natural Sciences / Physics High Energy Particle Physics \|	209	154	0.737	1049	826	0.787	256633	129993	0.507
1	3	9	737	Mike Wingfield	South Africa	University of Pretoria	Agriculture & Forestry / Forestry forest protection \| mycology \| entomology \| biotechnology \|	121	76	0.628	1001	679	0.678	71996	34183	0.475
1	4	10	904	Loan Truong	South Africa	University of Johannesburg	Natural Sciences / Physics HEP \| LHC \| ATLAS \|	171	153	0.895	623	618	0.992	116869	92527	0.792
2	5	13	1420	Rangan Gupta	South Africa	University of Pretoria	Economics & Econometrics / Economics Macroecomomics \| forecasting \|	82	74	0.902	621	503	0.810	31771	25442	0.801
1	6	15	1600	Bruce Mellado	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Physics Particle Physics \|	145	105	0.724	648	473	0.730	108764	52872	0.486
1	7	16	1734	Tebello Nyokong	South Africa	Rhodes University	Natural Sciences / Chemical Sciences Photophysics \|	84	40	0.476	686	458	0.668	32987	13511	0.410
1	8	18	1894	HC Swart	South Africa	University of the Free State	Natural Sciences / Physics nanophosphors \| luminescence \| cathodoluminescence \| surface characterization \|	65	53	0.815	547	444	0.812	22095	15626	0.707
2	9	19	1971	Shabir A. Madhi	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	First interest \| Second interest \| Vaccinology \| Respiratory pathogens \|	104	79	0.760	499	436	0.874	55956	37488	0.670
1	10	21	2019	Karl Peltzer	South Africa	Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa	Medical and Health Sciences / Health Sciences health sciences \|	87	68	0.782	597	433	0.725	37860	22567	0.596

Table VII C. South Africa Top 10 Last 5 Years H Index Click for details

				AD Scientific Index - 2024 South Africa Table VII C. South Africa Top 10 Last 5 Years H Index				H INDEX			i10 INDEX			CITATION
University	Country	Region	World	Name	Country	University	Subject	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total
1	1	6	235	Sahal Yacoob	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Natural Sciences / Physics High Energy Particle Physics \|	209	154	0.737	1049	826	0.787	256633	129993	0.507
1	2	7	270	Loan Truong	South Africa	University of Johannesburg	Natural Sciences / Physics HEP \| LHC \| ATLAS \|	171	153	0.895	623	618	0.992	116869	92527	0.792
2	3	12	932	Dan J Stein	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Psychiatry Anxiety disorders \| Psychiatry in Africa \|	169	116	0.686	1079	897	0.831	142136	83771	0.589
1	4	16	1289	David M. Richardson	South Africa	Stellenbosch University	Natural Sciences / Biological Science invasion ecology \| invasion biology \| invasion science \| conservation biology \| biological invasions \|	149	106	0.711	485	416	0.858	91900	41828	0.455
1	5	17	1318	Bruce Mellado	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Physics Particle Physics \|	145	105	0.724	648	473	0.730	108764	52872	0.486
2	6	18	1349	Joyful Mdhluli	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Physics High Energy Physics \|	105	105	1.000	363	363	1.000	39175	38425	0.981
3	7	19	1491	Jean Cleymans	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Natural Sciences / Physics Physics \| Thermal Models \| particle Physics \|	130	102	0.785	469	370	0.789	75451	39820	0.528
3	8	20	1666	Zeblon Vilakazi	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Physics High Energy physics \| Grid Computing \|	119	99	0.832	334	313	0.937	65734	38170	0.581
2	9	21	1854	Simon Connell	South Africa	University of Johannesburg	Natural Sciences / Physics Nuclear Physics \| Particle Physics \| Diamond Physics \| Quantum Physics \|	123	96	0.780	348	283	0.813	66336	40563	0.611
4	10	25	2975	Karen Sliwa	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Cardiology cardiology \| heart failure \| Africa \| peripartum \| covid \|	107	85	0.794	298	268	0.899	124001	83877	0.676

Table VII D. South Africa Top 10 Total Citiation Index Click for details

				AD Scientific Index - 2024 South Africa Table VII D. South Africa Top 10 Total Citiation Index				H INDEX			i10 INDEX			CITATION
University	Country	Region	World	Name	Country	University	Subject	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total
1	1	5	263	Sahal Yacoob	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Natural Sciences / Physics High Energy Particle Physics \|	209	154	0.737	1049	826	0.787	256633	129993	0.507
2	2	10	1304	Dan J Stein	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Psychiatry Anxiety disorders \| Psychiatry in Africa \|	169	116	0.686	1079	897	0.831	142136	83771	0.589
1	3	11	1398	Robert J Scholes	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Biological Science carbon cycle \| savannas \| earth observation \| biodiversity \|	103	68	0.660	301	210	0.698	137745	56486	0.410
3	4	13	1697	Karen Sliwa	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Cardiology cardiology \| heart failure \| Africa \| peripartum \| covid \|	107	85	0.794	298	268	0.899	124001	83877	0.676
1	5	18	1892	Loan Truong	South Africa	University of Johannesburg	Natural Sciences / Physics HEP \| LHC \| ATLAS \|	171	153	0.895	623	618	0.992	116869	92527	0.792
4	6	19	2019	Bongani M Mayosi	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Medicine Medicine \|	97	74	0.763	286	230	0.804	112684	71583	0.635
2	7	21	2156	Bruce Mellado	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Physics Particle Physics \|	145	105	0.724	648	473	0.730	108764	52872	0.486
1	8	26	3018	David M. Richardson	South Africa	Stellenbosch University	Natural Sciences / Biological Science invasion ecology \| invasion biology \| invasion science \| conservation biology \| biological invasions \|	149	106	0.711	485	416	0.858	91900	41828	0.455
5	9	29	3831	Naomi Sharlene Levitt	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences	81	59	0.728	298	227	0.762	81114	48323	0.596
6	10	31	4355	Jean Cleymans	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Natural Sciences / Physics Physics \| Thermal Models \| particle Physics \|	130	102	0.785	469	370	0.789	75451	39820	0.528

Table VII E. South Africa Top 10 Last 5 Years Citiation Index Click for details

				AD Scientific Index - 2024 South Africa Table VII E. South Africa Top 10 Last 5 Years Citiation Index				H INDEX			i10 INDEX			CITATION
University	Country	Region	World	Name	Country	University	Subject	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total	Total	Last 5 year	Last 5 year / total
1	1	5	228	Sahal Yacoob	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Natural Sciences / Physics High Energy Particle Physics\|	198	145	0.732	974	781	0.802	217585	114606	0.527
1	2	9	807	Loan Truong	South Africa	University of Johannesburg	Natural Sciences / Physics HEP\|LHC\|ATLAS\|	150	140	0.933	557	556	0.998	85539	74900	0.876
2	3	13	920	Bongani M Mayosi	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Medicine Medicine\|	91	73	0.802	274	220	0.803	99411	70418	0.708
3	4	14	982	Karen Sliwa	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Cardiology cardiology\|heart failure\|Africa\|peripartum\|covid\|	95	79	0.832	262	232	0.885	97810	68344	0.699
4	5	16	1059	Dan J Stein	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Psychiatry Anxiety disorders\|Psychiatry in Africa\|	156	103	0.660	1008	837	0.830	113870	65992	0.580
1	6	25	2214	Bruce Mellado	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Physics Particle Physics\|	129	92	0.713	553	400	0.723	86426	43744	0.506
2	7	26	2370	Robert J Scholes	South Africa	University of the Witwatersrand	Natural Sciences / Biological Science carbon cycle\|savannas\|earth observation\|biodiversity\|	98	63	0.643	273	186	0.681	90279	42040	0.466
5	8	27	2433	Naomi Sharlene Levitt	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences	75	56	0.747	269	208	0.773	67709	41284	0.610
1	9	32	2852	David M. Richardson	South Africa	Stellenbosch University	Natural Sciences / Biological Science invasion ecology\|invasion biology\|invasion science\|conservation biology\|biological invasions\|	140	101	0.721	462	401	0.868	81219	37223	0.458
6	10	34	2979	Liesl Zuhlke	South Africa	University of Cape Town	Medical and Health Sciences / Pediatric Cardiology Paediatric Cardiology\|	45	43	0.956	92	89	0.967	38146	36401	0.954