Universities by Research i10-index in South Africa
Universities and colleges ranked by OpenAlex's institutional i10-index, the number of works with at least ten citations. This is a research metric, not a measure of teaching quality. OpenAlex is an open scholarly index; larger and older institutions tend to have more indexed research.
1University of Cape Town227,838 works
112,286
2University of the Witwatersrand103,532 works
94,589
3Stellenbosch University85,297 works
69,248
4University of KwaZulu-Natal80,905 works
68,874
5University of Pretoria92,782 works
63,895
6University of Johannesburg82,351 works
37,950
7North-West University46,950 works
30,211
8University of the Free State40,308 works
21,940
9University of South Africa50,641 works
19,823
10University of the Western Cape27,384 works
17,837
11Rhodes University22,596 works
16,866
12Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine6,454 works
11,382
13Tshwane University of Technology15,270 works
9,913
14Nelson Mandela University18,074 works
9,130
15University of Fort Hare9,669 works
6,821
16Durban University of Technology13,030 works
6,477
17University of Limpopo11,285 works
5,612
18Cape Peninsula University of Technology9,584 works
5,143
19University of Venda8,081 works
3,933
20Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University7,563 works
3,786
21University of Zululand6,600 works
3,358
22Walter Sisulu University7,227 works
2,136
23Vaal University of Technology3,885 works
2,045
24International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology1,522 works
1,795
25Central University of Technology4,004 works
1,644
26African Institute for Mathematical Sciences2,166 works
861
27Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health580 works
754
28Mangosuthu University of Technology2,091 works
738
29University of Mpumalanga1,676 works
575
30Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa290 works
277
31Sol Plaatje University1,292 works
248
32Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies188 works
136
34Institute for Security Studies240 works
60
35The Independent Institute of Education573 works
55
36Management College of Southern Africa503 works
48
37Regenesys Business School159 works
30
38Regent Business School115 works
22
39St Augustine College of South Africa84 works
20
40South African College of Applied Psychology56 works
14
41South African National Energy Development Institute41 works
13
42Colleges of Medicine of South Africa50 works
12
43International Centre for Education, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences over Africa16 works
12
44Da Vinci Institute111 works
11
45Milpark Education58 works
9
46Global Centre for Academic Research37 works
8
47Midrand Graduate Institute48 works
8
48African Leadership Institute50 works
6
49Helderberg College19 works
5
50Mandela Institute for Development Studies11 works
5
Highlights
Within South Africa, University of Cape Town ranks first in 2026 with 112,286, followed by University of the Witwatersrand (94,589) and Stellenbosch University (69,248).
Across 50 entries, values run from 112,286 (University of Cape Town) to 5 (Mandela Institute for Development Studies), with a median of 1,253.
Source: OpenAlex, institutional Research i10-index, 2026. Unit: i10-index.
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