ZA
South Africa
South Africa ranks between 4th and 40th across the 45 technologies, by share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025. Best placings: electronic warfare (4th–19th), critical minerals processing (10th–13th) and new antibiotics and antivirals (17th–21st).
South Africa's rank in each of the 45 technologies
TechnologyRankIts neighbours in the rankingShare of the top 10%, from 2021 to 2025Its institution with the most credit
Electronic warfare
4–19tied, of 231.0 papers of credit
1stCN81.0%4–19PT0.8%4–19PK0.8%4–19ZA0.8%4–19FR0.8%4–19NO0.8%
University of Johannesburg0.8% of the top 10%
Critical minerals processing
10–13tied, of 58
1stCN43.0%10–13IT1.6%10–13BR1.5%10–13ZA1.5%14–15FI1.4%14–15BE1.2%
Stellenbosch University0.3% of the top 10%
New antibiotics and antivirals
17–21tied, of 82
1stCN30.3%17–21BD1.0%17–21NL1.0%17–21ZA1.0%17–21RO0.9%22–23JP0.8%
University of the Western Cape0.3% of the top 10%
Supercapacitors
19–21tied, of 86
1stCN46.3%19–21ES0.5%19–21SG0.5%19–21ZA0.5%22–24FR0.4%22–24CZ0.4%
University of South Africa0.1% of the top 10%
Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel
26–31tied, of 683.4 papers of credit
1stCN44.5%22–25AE0.5%26–31BR0.4%26–31ZA0.4%26–31EG0.3%26–31PL0.3%
University of the Western Cape0.2% of the top 10%
Quantum computing
26–29tied, of 71
1stUS34.9%26–29BE0.3%26–29EG0.3%26–29ZA0.3%26–29HU0.3%30–35IE0.2%
Stellenbosch University0.1% of the top 10%
Cybersecurity
25–28tied, of 104
1stCN14.8%25–28GR0.6%25–28TN0.6%25–28ZA0.6%29–33PT0.5%29–33SG0.5%
University of Johannesburg0.2% of the top 10%
Advanced aircraft engines
20–39tied, of 470.7 papers of credit
1stCN64.6%20–39CZ0.3%20–39PK0.3%20–39ZA0.2%20–39QA0.2%20–39IL0.2%
University of Johannesburg0.1% of the top 10%
mRNA vaccines and therapeutics
31–37tied, of 702.3 papers of credit
1stUS38.7%23–30AT0.3%23–30EG0.3%31–37ZA0.2%31–37BR0.2%31–37IE0.2%
Outside the top 30
University of KwaZulu-Natal0.1% of the top 10%
Synthetic biology
31–40tied, of 551.4 papers of credit
1stCN45.7%25–30IL0.3%25–30AE0.3%31–40ZA0.2%31–40CO0.2%31–40CL0.2%
Outside the top 30
North-West University0.1% of the top 10%
Optical communication
26–32tied, of 542.8 papers of credit
1stCN38.8%26–32IL0.4%26–32BD0.4%26–32ZA0.4%26–32QA0.4%33–36FI0.4%
Outside the top 30
University of the Witwatersrand0.4% of the top 10%
Quantum communication
27–40tied, of 571.2 papers of credit
1stCN28.9%27–40RU0.2%27–40EG0.2%27–40ZA0.2%27–40TW0.2%27–40IR0.2%
Outside the top 30
University of the Witwatersrand0.1% of the top 10%
Electric batteries
28–40tied, of 89
1stCN68.0%28–40AE0.1%28–40EG0.1%28–40ZA0.1%28–40IQ0.1%28–40BR0.1%
Outside the top 30
University of South Africa0.0% of the top 10%
Gene editing
30–35tied, of 772.8 papers of credit
1stUS32.2%30–35EG0.3%30–35AE0.3%30–35ZA0.3%30–35IE0.2%36–40MX0.2%
Outside the top 30
University of Johannesburg0.1% of the top 10%
Perovskite solar cells
33–40tied, of 762.4 papers of credit
1stCN53.9%33–40MX0.1%33–40AE0.1%33–40ZA0.1%33–40QA0.1%33–40KE0.1%
Outside the top 30
University of Fort Hare0.1% of the top 10%
6G and advanced wireless
34–38tied, of 802.3 papers of credit
1stCN39.9%34–38QA0.2%34–38JO0.2%34–38ZA0.2%39–40TN0.1%39–40RO0.1%
Outside the top 30
University of the Witwatersrand0.1% of the top 10%
Hydrogen by electrolysis
36–40tied, of 832.8 papers of credit
1stCN53.0%36–40DZ0.2%36–40JO0.2%36–40NZ0.2%36–40VN0.2%36–40ZA0.2%
Outside the top 30
Walter Sisulu University0.1% of the top 10%
Additive manufacturing
33–40tied, of 90
1stCN34.0%33–40TW0.3%33–40TH0.3%33–40DK0.3%33–40MX0.3%33–40ZA0.3%
Outside the top 30
University of Johannesburg0.1% of the top 10%
Metamaterials
33–40tied, of 732.5 papers of credit
1stCN55.5%33–40BN0.1%33–40DZ0.1%33–40BR0.1%33–40IS0.1%33–40ZA0.1%
Outside the top 30
University of Johannesburg0.1% of the top 10%
Distributed ledgers
37–40tied, of 103
1stCN20.6%33–36TH0.5%37–40IE0.4%37–40VN0.4%37–40SE0.4%37–40ZA0.4%
Outside the top 30
University of Johannesburg0.3% of the top 10%
Advanced composites
34–40tied, of 681.2 papers of credit
1stCN50.8%34–40TH0.2%34–40ID0.1%34–40QA0.1%34–40DK0.1%34–40ZA0.1%
Outside the top 30
University of South Africa0.1% of the top 10%
Post-quantum cryptography
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Large language models
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Atomic clocks
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Small satellites
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Hypersonic flight
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Drones and swarming
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Autonomous underwater vehicles
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Nuclear fusion
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Wide-bandgap semiconductors
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Quantum sensors
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
AI chips
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Advanced chip manufacturing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
High-performance computing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Space launch
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Satellite navigation
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Inertial navigation
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Radar
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Sonar and underwater acoustics
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Directed energy
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Hyperspectral imaging
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Magnets and superconductors
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Nuclear fission power
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Genome sequencing
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Advanced robotics
Not ranked
No credit in the top 10%.
Neighbours are the countries ranked just above and below. Ranks are shown as a range where shares are equal to one decimal place. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 23 October 2026. Download these numbers Method