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🎓 Top Research Universities in South Africa

Universities and colleges in South Africa ranked by the total citations their research has received (OpenAlex).

📅 2026📏 citations50 entries🇿🇦 See all of this country’s rankings →
Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (citations, logarithmic scale); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.
1
University of Cape Town227,772 papers
8,300,413
2
University of the Witwatersrand103,458 papers
5,917,810
3
Stellenbosch University85,232 papers
4,298,356
4
University of KwaZulu-Natal80,866 papers
4,109,137
5
University of Pretoria92,719 papers
3,257,610
6
University of Johannesburg82,247 papers
1,981,941
7
North-West University46,913 papers
1,583,818
8
Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine6,463 papers
976,464
9
University of the Western Cape27,318 papers
967,806
10
University of the Free State40,303 papers
966,132
11
University of South Africa50,545 papers
945,181
12
Rhodes University22,617 papers
802,946
13
Tshwane University of Technology15,253 papers
485,059
14
Nelson Mandela University17,750 papers
427,368
15
University of Fort Hare9,658 papers
348,179
16
Durban University of Technology13,008 papers
320,292
17
University of Limpopo11,275 papers
243,789
18
Cape Peninsula University of Technology9,573 papers
216,385
19
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University7,556 papers
168,131
20
University of Venda8,075 papers
167,931
21
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences2,165 papers
147,584
22
University of Zululand6,593 papers
138,504
23
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology1,523 papers
121,352
24
Walter Sisulu University7,207 papers
96,070
25
Vaal University of Technology3,879 papers
87,125
26
Central University of Technology4,001 papers
77,492
27
Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health581 papers
63,312
28
Mangosuthu University of Technology2,099 papers
29,242
29
University of Mpumalanga1,670 papers
18,788
30
Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies188 papers
11,262
31
Sol Plaatje University1,289 papers
11,187
32
Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa290 papers
10,794
33
IIE MSA317 papers
8,879
34
Institute for Security Studies240 papers
2,399
35
The Independent Institute of Education568 papers
2,365
36
Management College of Southern Africa503 papers
1,856
37
Regenesys Business School158 papers
1,246
38
Mandela Institute for Development Studies9 papers
775
39
Regent Business School115 papers
689
40
South African College of Applied Psychology56 papers
634
41
South African National Energy Development Institute41 papers
619
42
International Centre for Education, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences over Africa16 papers
561
43
Da Vinci Institute111 papers
553
44
St Augustine College of South Africa84 papers
533
45
Colleges of Medicine of South Africa50 papers
332
46
Akademia103 papers
294
47
Helderberg College19 papers
259
48
Midrand Graduate Institute48 papers
249
49
Global Centre for Academic Research37 papers
242
50
Milpark Education58 papers
230

Highlights

Within South Africa, University of Cape Town ranks first in 2026 with 8,300,413, followed by University of the Witwatersrand (5,917,810) and Stellenbosch University (4,298,356).

Across 50 entries, values run from 8,300,413 (University of Cape Town) to 230 (Milpark Education), with a median of 82,309.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers, 2026. Unit: citations.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers · CC0 1.0 (OpenAlex) · fetched Oct 13, 2026 — Counts every citation to papers by authors affiliated with the institution, so large and old universities score high. It measures research impact, not teaching quality.