South Africa's Top 2% Scientists 2021: Career-Long List

South Africa has 669 scientists on the 2021 career-long Top 2% list, up 24.8% from 536 in 2020. That places South Africa 31st in the world by number of listed scientists, up 1 place. University of Cape Town has the most listed scientists (124), followed by University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (79).

Single Year

752

+163 (+27.7%) vs 2020

Career Data

669

+133 (+24.8%) vs 2020

World rank by count

#31

up 1 place vs 2020

Institutes

+11 (+15.3%) vs 2020

Scientists in South Africa on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 25% since 2020.

Career-long list, change on the previous year

2021+24.8%

2022+6.6%

2023+8.7%

2024+6.6%

2025+8.5%

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%

Top 10 institutes in South Africa

By number of listed scientists

Career-long list2021

Show the list

1University of Cape Town124
2University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg79
3Stellenbosch University77
4University of Pretoria64
5University of KwaZulu-Natal44
6University of Johannesburg42
7University of the Free State18
8North-West University14
9Nelson Mandela University13
10Rhodes University13

All 669 scientists

Career-long list2021

The first 100 are free to browse.

Export CSV

Rank in South Africa	World rank	Scientist	Institute	Sub-field	Rank in sub-field
1	1,041	SD Stein, Dan J.	University of Cape Town	Psychiatry	Rank 32
2	2,021	HM Hamblin, Michael R.	University of Johannesburg	Dermatology & Venereal Diseases	Rank 2
3	2,048	NT Noakes, Tim	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	Sport Sciences	Rank 2
4	2,747	BW Bond, William J.	University of Cape Town	Ecology	Rank 52
5	3,114	RD Richardson, David M.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 61
6	3,139	MP Muris, Peter	Stellenbosch University	Clinical Psychology	Rank 18
7	4,380	OL Opie, Lionel H.	Groote Schuur Hospital	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 218
8	4,607	Van der Bruggen, Bart	Tshwane University of Technology	Chemical Engineering	Rank 14
9	4,821	SS Shapiro, Samuel	Faculty of Health Sciences	Epidemiology	Rank 22
10	5,522	PM Pepper, Michael S.	University of Pretoria	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 292
11	6,625	RS Ray, Suprakas Sinha	The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research	Polymers	Rank 54
12	6,862	MJ Michael, Joseph P.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 146
13	6,953	JR Jewkes, Rachel	South African Medical Research Council	Public Health	Rank 57
14	9,492	BL Barbour, Leonard J.	Stellenbosch University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 202
15	9,618	KM Kew, Michael	Groote Schuur Hospital	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 161
16	10,121	EG Ellis, George F.R.	University of Cape Town	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 164
17	10,348	Makinde, O. D.	Stellenbosch University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 65
18	10,477	AR Asherson, Ronald A.	University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pathology	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 94
19	10,743	AA Atangana, A.	University of the Free State	Applied Mathematics	Rank 26
20	10,755	HG Hofmeyr, G. J.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 155
21	12,075	NT Nyokong, Tebello	Rhodes University	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 81
22	12,208	CR Cowling, Richard M.	Nelson Mandela University	Ecology	Rank 219
23	13,088	JS Johnson, Steven D.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 167
24	13,217	GJ Gibson, James L.	Stellenbosch University	Political Science & Public Administration	Rank 26
25	13,855	NA Naldrett, Anthony J.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Geology	Rank 14
26	15,294	EA Engelbrecht, Andries P.	Stellenbosch University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 256
27	15,382	HP Hallinger, Philip	University of Johannesburg	Education	Rank 52
28	15,902	BD Baldwin, David S.	University of Cape Town	Psychiatry	Rank 433
29	16,001	DW de Wit, Maarten	Nelson Mandela University	Geology	Rank 17
30	16,336	EJ Eloff, Jacobus N.	University of Pretoria	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 51
31	16,983	RP Ryan, Peter G.	University of Cape Town	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 97
32	17,043	SR Scholes, Robert J.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Ecology	Rank 293
33	17,403	VS van Staden, Johannes	University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 175
34	17,970	MR Millar, Robert P.	Faculty of Health Sciences	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 470
35	18,249	DR Davé, Romeel	University of the Western Cape	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 159
36	18,261	GL Gilson, Lucy	University of Cape Town	Health Policy & Services	Rank 50
37	19,273	ON Owen-Smith, Norman	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Ecology	Rank 329
38	19,598	MW Marasas, W. F.O.	Stellenbosch University	Food Science	Rank 57
39	19,639	EE Ebenso, Eno E.	University of South Africa	Energy	Rank 175
40	20,086	BP Beighton, Peter	University of the Western Cape	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 114
41	20,302	MG Mensah, George A.	University of Cape Town	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 886
42	20,851	BE Bateman, Eric D.	University of Cape Town	Respiratory System	Rank 211
43	21,025	CJ Clemens, J. D.	Stellenbosch University	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 336
44	21,588	Carranza, Emmanuel John M.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 350
45	22,676	DB De Blok, W. J.G.	University of Cape Town	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 215
46	22,828	WM Wingfield, Michael J.	University of Pretoria	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 250
47	22,942	DP Donald, Peter R.	Stellenbosch University	Microbiology	Rank 557
48	22,972	GW Getz, Wayne M.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Ecology	Rank 387
49	23,003	TD Timothy, Dallen J.	University of Johannesburg	Sport, Leisure & Tourism	Rank 19
50	23,031	TD Thomas, David S.G.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Geography	Rank 58
51	23,602	WR Wallis, Robert S.	The Aurum Institute	Microbiology	Rank 571
52	23,984	WA Whitfield, Alan K.	South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 158
53	24,786	VG Venayagamoorthy, Ganesh K.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Energy	Rank 234
54	24,811	RC Rogerson, Christian M.	University of Johannesburg	Geography	Rank 65
55	24,937	SS Seedat, Soraya	Stellenbosch University	Psychiatry	Rank 620
56	25,237	MB Mayosi, Bongani	Groote Schuur Hospital	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 1,083
57	25,712	SM Samways, Michael J.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 430
58	26,033	DM Dry, M. E.	University of Cape Town	Physical Chemistry	Rank 96
59	26,079	GD Gursoy, Dogan	University of Johannesburg	Sport, Leisure & Tourism	Rank 23
60	26,107	MN Malhotra, Naresh K.	University of Johannesburg	Marketing	Rank 44
61	26,408	AK Abdool Karim, Salim S.	Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa	Virology	Rank 189
62	26,601	SC Shackleton, C. M.	Rhodes University	Ecology	Rank 453
63	26,671	MC Marean, Curtis W.	Nelson Mandela University	Anthropology	Rank 19
64	26,828	SG Shephard, Gordon S.	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	Food Science	Rank 87
65	27,494	WR Wood, Robin	University of Cape Town	Virology	Rank 203
66	27,575	CD Cowan, Don A.	University of Pretoria	Microbiology	Rank 681
67	28,770	KJ Kramers, Jan D.	University of Johannesburg	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 470
68	29,034	HG Harrison, Glenn W.	University of Cape Town	Economics	Rank 237
69	29,216	DD Dorrell, David G.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 69
70	29,827	LJ Lutjeharms, Johann R.E.	University of Cape Town	Oceanography	Rank 40
71	30,441	ER Emsley, Robin	Stellenbosch University	Psychiatry	Rank 710
72	32,722	CH Coovadia, Hoosen M.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 375
73	32,761	VW van Wilgen, Brian W.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 568
74	33,077	JS Jacobson, Sandra W.	Faculty of Health Sciences	Substance Abuse	Rank 101
75	33,329	WL Wadley, Lyn	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Archaeology	Rank 16
76	33,659	ZH Zar, Heather J.	University of Cape Town	Respiratory System	Rank 354
77	34,342	LC Lance, Charles E.	University of the Western Cape	Business & Management	Rank 308
78	35,179	PT Pal, Tarasankar	University of Johannesburg	Chemical Physics	Rank 795
79	35,776	BN Beukes, Nicolas J.	University of Johannesburg	Geology	Rank 45
80	36,013	PD Pillay, Deenan	Africa Health Research Institute	Virology	Rank 274
81	36,131	MM Mazzola, M.	Stellenbosch University	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 431
82	36,598	CJ Cleymans, J.	University of Cape Town	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 601
83	37,133	NM New, Mark G.	University of Cape Town	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 528
84	37,731	SR Smith, Roger M.H.	Iziko South African Museum	Paleontology	Rank 113
85	39,617	MD Martin, Darren Patrick	University of Cape Town	Virology	Rank 303
86	39,986	WQ Wang, Qing Guo	University of Johannesburg	Industrial Engineering & Automation	Rank 301
87	40,003	NS Nicolson, Susan W.	University of Pretoria	Entomology	Rank 66
88	40,174	CT Celik, Turgay	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 672
89	40,508	BS Benatar, Solomon	University of Cape Town	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 467
90	40,597	ET Egan, Timothy J.	University of Cape Town	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 114
91	41,184	PN Park, Nansook	University of Johannesburg	Social Psychology	Rank 379
92	41,203	NF Nabarro, F. R.N.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Materials	Rank 516
93	41,753	RC Reason, C. J.C.	University of Cape Town	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 604
94	42,404	DA Daar, Abdallah S.	Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study	Surgery	Rank 352
95	42,560	SG Swan, G. E.	University of Pretoria	Veterinary Sciences	Rank 43
96	42,779	TI Turok, Ivan	University of the Free State	Urban & Regional Planning	Rank 42
97	43,251	DL Denny, Lynette	Groote Schuur Hospital	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 1,934
98	43,810	WB Williams, Brian	Stellenbosch University	Microbiology	Rank 1,074
99	44,428	MA McLachlan, Anton	Nelson Mandela University	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 329
100	44,781	ML Manderson, Lenore	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Public Health	Rank 413
No scientists match this filter.

Showing 1 to 100 of the first 100 Show

Paid plans

See all 669 scientists in South Africa

You are seeing the first 100. 569 more are on the 2021 career-long list.

Ranks 101 to 669The whole list, not only the top 100.

Every year since 2020Single Year and Career Data.

Search the full listBy name, institute or sub-field.

CSV exportDownload the list for your own work.

View Plans & Upgrade Compare plans

Cancel anytime · Secure billing

Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2021

Greece829 scientistsin 2021

Turkey828 scientistsin 2021

Brazil812 scientistsin 2021

Ireland661 scientistsin 2021

Iran654 scientistsin 2021

Portugal481 scientistsin 2021

Explore other countries

Career-long list2021

Egypt327 scientistsin 2021

Nigeria73 scientistsin 2021

Kenya35 scientistsin 2021

Tunisia23 scientistsin 2021

Algeria21 scientistsin 2021

Israel1,870 scientistsin 2021

All countries on the world map

Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from South Africa are in the 2021 Stanford Top 2% list?

752 scientists affiliated with South Africa are on the 2021 single-year list, and 669 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2021 career-long list, University of Cape Town has the most listed scientists from South Africa, with 124. It is followed by University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg with 79.

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

On the career-long list, South Africa went from 536 scientists in 2020 to 669 in 2021, a change of +24.8%.

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.