ZA
South Africa
South Africa ranks between 4th and 40th across the 45 technologies, by share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025.
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 18 October 2026. Method