South Africa's Top 2% Scientists 2026

South Africa has 1,033 scientists on the 2026 single-year Top 2% list, up 5.9% from 975 in 2025. That places South Africa 34th in the world by number of listed scientists, down 1 place. University of Cape Town has the most listed scientists (117), followed by University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (95).

Single Year

1,033

+58 (+5.9%) vs 2025

Career Data

963

+67 (+7.5%) vs 2025

World rank by count

#34

down 1 place vs 2025

Institutes

109

+18 (+19.8%) vs 2025

Scientists in South Africa on the list, by year

The single-year count has grown 75% since 2020.

Single-year list, change on the previous year

2021+27.7%

2022+6.8%

2023+6.5%

2024+5.4%

2025+8.2%

2026+5.9%

Show the numbers

Year	Single Year	Change	Career Data	Change
2020	589		536
2021	752	+27.7%	669	+24.8%
2022	803	+6.8%	713	+6.6%
2023	855	+6.5%	775	+8.7%
2024	901	+5.4%	826	+6.6%
2025	975	+8.2%	896	+8.5%
2026	1,033	+5.9%	963	+7.5%

Top 10 institutes in South Africa

By number of listed scientists

Single-year list2026

Show the list

1University of Cape Town117
2University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg95
3University of Johannesburg88
4Stellenbosch University86
5University of Pretoria83
6University of KwaZulu-Natal74
7University of South Africa59
8North-West University45
9University of the Western Cape33
10University of the Free State27

All 1,033 scientists

Single-year list2026

Showing the 2026 single-year list. Looking for career rankings? See the career-long list

The first 100 are free to browse.

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Rank in South Africa	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	84	HM Hamblin, Michael R.	University of Johannesburg	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 1
2	262	EM Egger, Matthias	Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 12
3	455	SD Stein, Dan J.	University of Cape Town	Psychiatry	Rank 10
4	664	SM Sillanpää, Mika E.T.	University of Johannesburg	Environmental Sciences	Rank 13
5	786	AA Atangana, Abdon	University of the Free State	Applied Mathematics	Rank 2
6	1,188	BO Babalola, Olubukola Oluranti	North-West University	Microbiology	Rank 18
7	1,747	SM Steger, Michael F.	North-West University	Social Psychology	Rank 63
8	1,899	BW Bond, William J.	University of Cape Town	Ecology	Rank 60
9	2,455	RD Richardson, David M.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 71
10	2,571	MD Mhlanga, David	University of South Africa	Education	Rank 43
11	2,727	FA Forbes, Andrew	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Optoelectronics & Photonics	Rank 5
12	3,316	RS Ray, Suprakas Sinha	University of Johannesburg	Polymers	Rank 17
13	3,561	EA Ezugwu, Absalom El Shamir	North-West University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 201
14	3,722	DP Du Plessis, Anton	Stellenbosch University	Materials	Rank 69
15	3,763	MA Mbembé, Achille	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Anthropology	Rank 2
16	4,261	Carranza, Emmanuel John M.	University of the Free State	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 47
17	4,358	Makinde, O. D.	Stellenbosch University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 36
18	4,465	OA Onwuegbuzie, Anthony John	University of Johannesburg	Education	Rank 67
19	4,520	RP Ryan, Peter G.	University of Cape Town	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 16
20	4,687	JR Jewkes, R. K.	South African Medical Research Council	Public Health	Rank 49
21	5,139	AB Aderibigbe, Blessing Atim A.	University of Fort Hare	Polymers	Rank 25
22	6,162	ZH Zar, Heather J.	University of Cape Town	Respiratory System	Rank 33
23	6,251	DL Dicks, Leon Milner Theodore	Stellenbosch University	Microbiology	Rank 96
24	6,408	BE Bennett, Elena M.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 172
25	6,749	TT Torsvik, Trond H.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 74
26	6,866	LC Lund, Crick	University of Cape Town	Psychiatry	Rank 157
27	6,943	SS Seedat, Soraya	Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences	Psychiatry	Rank 158
28	7,540	EE Ebenso, Eno E.	University of South Africa	Energy	Rank 198
29	7,684	KA Kengne, A. P.	South African Medical Research Council	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 148
30	8,100	ÇT Çelik, Turgay	School of Electrical and Information Engineering	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 435
31	8,126	ON Odhiambo, Nicholas M.	University of South Africa	Economics	Rank 147
32	8,318	EJ Eloff, Jacobus Nicholaas	University of Pretoria	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 96
33	8,699	SR Scholes, Robert J.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Ecology	Rank 219
34	8,779	SS Stein, Sharon	Nelson Mandela University	Education	Rank 148
35	8,802	WV Watson, Vanessa J.	University of Cape Town	Urban & Regional Planning	Rank 24
36	9,716	DR Dav́e, Romeel	South African Astronomical Observatories	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 94
37	10,102	KP Kaur, Puneet	North-West University	Marketing	Rank 68
38	10,269	SC Shackleton, Charlie M.	Rhodes University	Ecology	Rank 243
39	10,441	HR Henkel, Ralf Reinhold	University of the Western Cape	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 34
40	10,789	WA Whitfield, Alan K.	South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 42
41	10,895	AH Abrahamse, Heidi	University of Johannesburg	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 32
42	10,928	SM Scholz, Miklas	University of Johannesburg	Environmental Engineering	Rank 50
43	11,150	EG Ellis, George Francis Rayner	University of Cape Town	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 137
44	11,258	CC Chua, Chee Kai	Singapore University of Technology and Design	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 120
45	11,278	BM Burawoy, Michael	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Sociology	Rank 61
46	11,356	MA Maroyi, Alfred	University of Fort Hare	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 37
47	12,713	KK Kaviyarasu, K.	University of South Africa	Applied Physics	Rank 237
48	12,861	NS Nicolson, Susan Wendy	University of Pretoria	Entomology	Rank 16
49	12,896	GF Ganda, Fortune	Walter Sisulu University	Environmental Sciences	Rank 287
50	13,573	GR Gupta, Rangan	University of Pretoria	Economics	Rank 210
51	13,664	BL Bekker, Linda-Gail Gail	University of Cape Town	Virology	Rank 28
52	13,999	SJ Schot, Johan A.	College of Business and Economics	Science Studies	Rank 26
53	14,055	NT Noakes, Timothy D.	University of Cape Town	Sport Sciences	Rank 55
54	14,211	OD Onwudiwe, Damian C.	School of Agricultural Sciences	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 36
55	14,420	SK Sliwa, Karen S.	Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 450
56	14,688	WM Wingfield, Michael J.	University of Pretoria	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 193
57	14,818	DD Deardorff, Darla K.	Stellenbosch University	Education	Rank 231
58	15,306	AF Alberício, Fernando	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Organic Chemistry	Rank 174
59	15,404	JS Johnson, Steven D.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 108
60	15,574	OU Opara, Umezuruike Linus	Stellenbosch University	Food Science	Rank 151
61	16,299	AS Archibald, Sally A.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Ecology	Rank 358
62	16,376	MI Mienye, Ibomoiye Domor	University of South Africa	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 859
63	16,455	CJ Conradie, Jeanet	University of the Free State	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 38
64	16,502	MP Moons, Philip	University of Cape Town	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 514
65	17,071	AO Adebo, Oluwafemi Ayodeji	University of Johannesburg	Food Science	Rank 170
66	17,288	SM Schuld, Maria	University of Johannesburg	General Physics	Rank 133
67	17,475	MT Metz, Thaddeus	University of Pretoria	Philosophy	Rank 28
68	17,735	GL Gilson, Lucy	University of Cape Town	Health Policy & Services	Rank 27
69	18,360	AA Al Amosh, Hamzeh	University of South Africa	Business & Management	Rank 553
70	18,449	DK Dzobo, Kevin	Groote Schuur Hospital	Bioinformatics	Rank 54
71	18,641	CJ Clemens, J. D.	Stellenbosch University	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 256
72	18,703	MS Madhi, Shabir A.	University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences	Microbiology	Rank 342
73	19,181	IR Inglesi-Lotz, Roula	University of Pretoria	Energy	Rank 513
74	19,507	OK Owolabi, Kolade Matthew	University of Pretoria	Mathematical Physics	Rank 13
75	19,519	WC Wiysonge, Charles Shey	South African Medical Research Council	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 321
76	19,611	NT Nyokong, Tebello	University of South Africa	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 46
77	20,191	MR Maartens, Roy	University of the Western Cape	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 241
78	20,303	EA Engelbrecht, Andries Petrus	Stellenbosch University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 1,043
79	20,363	BB Büscher, Bram E.	University of Johannesburg	Geography	Rank 101
80	20,404	MM Mǎaza, Maalik M.	University of South Africa	Applied Physics	Rank 365
81	20,967	VW Van Wyk, Ben Erik	University of Johannesburg	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 286
82	22,109	RL Richter, Linda M.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Public Health	Rank 209
83	22,385	VD van der Heijden, Béatrice Isabella Johanna Maria	University of the Free State	Business & Management	Rank 641
84	22,530	BH Bauder, Harald S.	University of the Western Cape	Geography	Rank 112
85	22,641	CC Coetzee, Corné J.	Stellenbosch University	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 165
86	22,894	MB Mayosi, Bongani M.	University of Cape Town	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 686
87	23,154	MM Manley, Marena	Stellenbosch University	Food Science	Rank 252
88	23,603	RF Raal, Frederick Johan	University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Health Sciences	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 713
89	24,021	MA Mishra, Ajay Kumar	University of the Western Cape	Polymers	Rank 175
90	24,203	TI Turok, Ivan Nicholas	University of the Free State	Urban & Regional Planning	Rank 73
91	24,427	JM John, Maya Jacob	The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research	Polymers	Rank 178
92	24,596	CV Chaplot, Vincent A.M.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 180
93	25,012	OR Owen-Smith, R. Norman	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Ecology	Rank 524
94	25,270	NS Nkomo, Stella M.	University of Pretoria	Business & Management	Rank 712
95	25,370	OI Orimoloye, I. R.	University of the Free State	Environmental Sciences	Rank 567
96	25,785	SM Samways, Michael J.	University of Sellenbosch	Ecology	Rank 537
97	26,046	CC Chaka, Chaka	University of South Africa	Education	Rank 381
98	26,232	MT Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Agronomy & Agriculture	Rank 190
99	27,130	VS van Staden, Johannes V.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 376
100	27,171	KS Kasongo, Sydney Mambwe	Stellenbosch University	Networking & Telecommunications	Rank 281
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Every year since 2020Single Year and Career Data.

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Countries with a similar count

Single-year list2026

Greece1,184 scientists

Portugal1,060 scientists

Pakistan1,034 scientists

Ireland995 scientists

Russia989 scientists

New Zealand971 scientists

Explore other countries

Single-year list2026

Botswana20 scientists

Egypt1,307 scientists

Nigeria305 scientists

Ethiopia236 scientists

Morocco185 scientists

Algeria101 scientists

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from South Africa are in the 2026 Stanford Top 2% list?

1,033 scientists affiliated with South Africa are on the 2026 single-year list, and 963 are on the career-long list.

Which institute in South Africa has the most Top 2% scientists?

On the 2026 single-year list, University of Cape Town has the most listed scientists from South Africa, with 117. It is followed by University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg with 95.

How has the number of Top 2% scientists in South Africa changed since 2020?

On the single-year list, South Africa went from 589 scientists in 2020 to 1,033 in 2026, a change of +75.4%.

What is the difference between the single-year and career-long lists?

The single-year list ranks scientists on the citations their work received in one year. The career-long list ranks them on citations across their whole career. Both lists are published every year, and a scientist can be on one, both or neither.

What is the official source of this data?

The rankings come from the science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators published by Ioannidis et al. in the Elsevier Data Repository, updated every year. TOPSCINET, an independent platform, organises that data by country, year, institute and field, so you can compare and explore it.