South Africa's Top 2% Scientists 2024: Career-Long List

South Africa has 826 scientists on the 2024 career-long Top 2% list, up 6.6% from 775 in 2023. That places South Africa 33rd in the world by number of listed scientists, down 1 place. University of Cape Town has the most listed scientists (158), followed by University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (117).

Single Year

901

+46 (+5.4%) vs 2023

Career Data

826

+51 (+6.6%) vs 2023

World rank by count

#33

down 1 place vs 2023

Institutes

-15 (-15.6%) vs 2023

Scientists in South Africa on the list, by year

The career-long count has grown 54% 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 list2024

Show the list

1University of Cape Town158
2University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg117
3Stellenbosch University98
4University of Pretoria84
5University of KwaZulu-Natal63
6University of Johannesburg58
7North-West University23
8University of the Free State23
9University of South Africa18
10University of the Western Cape17

All 826 scientists

Career-long list2024

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	189	SR Sheldon, Roger A.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 2
2	623	CT Clutton-Brock, Tim H.	University of Pretoria	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 7
3	699	SD Stein, Dan J.	University of Cape Town	Psychiatry	Rank 25
4	723	HM Hamblin, Michael R.	University of Johannesburg	Oncology & Carcinogenesis	Rank 28
5	2,211	NT Noakes, Timothy David	Cape Peninsula University of Technology	Sport Sciences	Rank 2
6	2,511	BW Bond, William J.	University of Cape Town	Ecology	Rank 52
7	2,636	RD Richardson, David M.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 56
8	3,404	SM Sillanpää, Mika	University of Johannesburg	Environmental Sciences	Rank 16
9	3,985	AA Atangana, Abdon	University of the Free State	Applied Mathematics	Rank 16
10	5,139	OL Opie, Lionel H.	University of Cape Town	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 259
11	5,352	RS Ray, Suprakas Sinha	The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research	Polymers	Rank 37
12	6,014	JR Jewkes, Rachel	South African Medical Research Council	Public Health	Rank 48
13	6,219	PM Pepper, M. S.	University of Pretoria	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 291
14	6,892	Makinde, O. D.	Stellenbosch University	Mechanical Engineering & Transports	Rank 41
15	8,413	MJ Michael, Joseph P.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Organic Chemistry	Rank 174
16	8,798	MR Maartens, Roy	University of the Western Cape	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 119
17	9,659	OA Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.	University of Johannesburg	Education	Rank 40
18	9,861	PK Peltzer, Karl	University of the Free State	Public Health	Rank 85
19	10,051	EG Ellis, G. F.R.	University of Cape Town	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 140
20	10,144	HG Hofmeyr, G. Justus	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 165
21	10,451	KM Kew, Michael	University of Cape Town	Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Rank 181
22	10,511	RP Ryan, Peter G.	University of Cape Town	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 50
23	10,749	BL Barbour, Leonard J.	Stellenbosch University	Organic Chemistry	Rank 229
24	12,044	AR Asherson, Ronald A.	School of Pathology	Arthritis & Rheumatology	Rank 113
25	12,550	JS Johnson, Steven D.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 154
26	12,565	NT Nyokong, Tebello	Rhodes University	Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry	Rank 64
27	12,594	EJ Eloff, J. N.	University of Pretoria	Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry	Rank 41
28	12,734	GJ Gibson, James L.	Stellenbosch University	Political Science & Public Administration	Rank 34
29	13,016	BF Bickelhaupt, F. Matthias	University of Johannesburg	Chemical Physics	Rank 304
30	13,251	CR Cowling, Richard M.	Nelson Mandela University	Ecology	Rank 245
31	13,336	EA Engelbrecht, Andries P.	Stellenbosch University	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 279
32	13,788	EE Ebenso, Eno E.	University of South Africa	Energy	Rank 140
33	13,973	CJ Condon, James J.	South African Radio Astronomy Observatory	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 108
34	14,904	AF Albericio, Fernando	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Organic Chemistry	Rank 323
35	15,238	Carranza, Emmanuel John M.	University of the Free State	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 232
36	15,249	NA Naldrett, Anthony J.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Geology	Rank 16
37	15,331	VS van Staden, Johannes	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 153
38	15,474	TD Timothy, Dallen J.	University of Johannesburg	Sport, Leisure & Tourism	Rank 19
39	15,731	GL Gilson, Lucy	University of Cape Town	Health Policy & Services	Rank 34
40	16,074	DW de Wit, Maarten	Nelson Mandela University	Geology	Rank 18
41	16,467	SR Scholes, Robert J.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Ecology	Rank 299
42	16,991	AK Abdool Karim, Salim S.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Virology	Rank 117
43	17,164	RC Rogerson, Christian M.	University of Johannesburg	Geography	Rank 46
44	17,198	SS Shapiro, Samuel	University of Cape Town	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 253
45	18,651	SS Seedat, Soraya	Stellenbosch University	Psychiatry	Rank 489
46	18,969	ON Owen-Smith, Norman	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Ecology	Rank 342
47	19,199	MB Mayosi, Bongani	University of Cape Town	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 832
48	19,207	WM Wingfield, Michael J.	University of Pretoria	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 204
49	19,359	MR Millar, Robert P.	University of Pretoria	Endocrinology & Metabolism	Rank 505
50	19,973	BP Beighton, Peter	University of Cape Town	Genetics & Heredity	Rank 106
51	20,042	TD Tománek, David	University of Johannesburg	Applied Physics	Rank 487
52	20,857	WA Whitfield, Alan K.	South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	Rank 137
53	20,873	CJ Clemens, John D.	Stellenbosch University	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 330
54	20,886	TD Thomas, David S.G.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Geography	Rank 57
55	21,807	SC Shackleton, C. M.	Rhodes University	Ecology	Rank 384
56	22,445	MA Mbembe, Achille	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Anthropology	Rank 12
57	22,791	GW Getz, Wayne M.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Ecology	Rank 404
58	22,808	ZH Zar, Heather J.	University of Cape Town	Respiratory System	Rank 220
59	23,018	MW Marasas, W. F.O.	Stellenbosch University	Food Science	Rank 88
60	23,056	DB de Blok, W. J.G.	University of Cape Town	Astronomy & Astrophysics	Rank 225
61	23,471	BE Bateman, Eric D.	Groote Schuur Hospital	Respiratory System	Rank 226
62	23,536	SM Samways, Michael J.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 412
63	23,979	CD Cowan, Don A.	University of Pretoria	Microbiology	Rank 597
64	24,172	DP Donald, Peter	Stellenbosch University	Microbiology	Rank 602
65	24,726	DD Dorrell, David George	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Electrical & Electronic Engineering	Rank 60
66	25,051	WR Wallis, Robert S.	The Aurum Institute	Microbiology	Rank 621
67	27,529	OS Oehninger, Sergio	Stellenbosch University	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	Rank 218
68	27,542	HG Harrison, Glenn W.	University of Cape Town	Economics	Rank 241
69	27,633	SG Shephard, Gordon S.	South African Medical Research Council	Food Science	Rank 112
70	27,650	AS Asongu, Simplice A.	University of Johannesburg	Economics	Rank 244
71	28,351	JM Jennions, Michael D.	Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study	Evolutionary Biology	Rank 268
72	28,570	SK Sliwa, Karen	University of Cape Town	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 1,165
73	28,824	WR Wood, Robin	University of Cape Town	Virology	Rank 196
74	29,518	DM Dry, M. E.	University of Cape Town	Physical Chemistry	Rank 108
75	29,713	WH Westerhoff, Hans V.	Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Rank 1,282
76	30,096	VW van Wilgen, Brian W.	Stellenbosch University	Ecology	Rank 536
77	30,398	BT Baum, Thomas	University of Strathclyde	Sport, Leisure & Tourism	Rank 40
78	30,656	CT Celik, Turgay	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	Rank 642
79	30,660	MD Martin, Darren	University of Cape Town	Virology	Rank 213
80	31,295	LJ Lutjeharms, Johann R.E.	University of Cape Town	Oceanography	Rank 30
81	31,619	KJ Kramers, Jan D.	University of Johannesburg	Geochemistry & Geophysics	Rank 522
82	31,918	ER Emsley, R.	Stellenbosch University	Psychiatry	Rank 715
83	32,162	KA Kausar, Ayesha	Ithemba Laboratory for Accelerator-Based Sciences	Polymers	Rank 285
84	32,289	WL Wadley, Lyn	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Archaeology	Rank 21
85	32,942	MM Mazzola, Mark	Stellenbosch University	Plant Biology & Botany	Rank 395
86	33,577	MS Madhi, Shabir A.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Microbiology	Rank 854
87	34,879	LT Letcher, Trevor M.	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Chemical Engineering	Rank 129
88	34,940	CJ Cleymans, Jean	University of Cape Town	Nuclear & Particle Physics	Rank 509
89	35,196	TI Turok, Ivan	Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa	Urban & Regional Planning	Rank 39
90	35,810	LC Lance, Charles E.	University of the Western Cape	Business & Management	Rank 367
91	35,884	KA Kengne, Andre Pascal	South African Medical Research Council	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 491
92	36,004	BN Beukes, Nic	University of Johannesburg	Geology	Rank 42
93	36,561	NM New, Mark G.	University of Cape Town	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 543
94	36,868	BO Babalola, Olubukola Oluranti	North-West University	Microbiology	Rank 931
95	36,931	CH Coovadia, Hoosen M.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	General & Internal Medicine	Rank 504
96	37,237	RC Reason, C. J.C.	University of Cape Town	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	Rank 556
97	37,796	RU Ripamonti, Ugo	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Dentistry	Rank 180
98	38,208	NS Nicolson, Susan W.	University of Pretoria	Entomology	Rank 60
99	38,476	RF Raal, Frederick J.	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Cardiovascular System & Hematology	Rank 1,513
100	38,843	ML Manderson, Lenore	University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg	Public Health	Rank 370
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Countries with a similar count

Career-long list2024

Iran1,020 scientistsin 2024

Russia980 scientistsin 2024

Ireland836 scientistsin 2024

Saudi Arabia676 scientistsin 2024

Portugal633 scientistsin 2024

Czech Republic555 scientistsin 2024

Explore other countries

Career-long list2024

Egypt495 scientistsin 2024

Nigeria117 scientistsin 2024

Tunisia40 scientistsin 2024

Kenya38 scientistsin 2024

Morocco37 scientistsin 2024

Algeria32 scientistsin 2024

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Frequently asked questions

How many scientists from South Africa are in the 2024 Stanford Top 2% list?

901 scientists affiliated with South Africa are on the 2024 single-year list, and 826 are on the career-long list.

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

On the 2024 career-long list, University of Cape Town has the most listed scientists from South Africa, with 158. It is followed by University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg with 117.

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 826 in 2024, a change of +54.1%.

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.