The 15 best universities in South Africa in new global ranking
The University of Cape Town (UCT) has again been named the best university in South Africa but has warned South Africans to read too much into the rankings.
UCT was named the best university in Africa in the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities rankings.
The rankings focus exclusively on institutions’s overall academic research and reputations. Thus, undergraduate or postgraduate programs are ignored in the comparison.
U.S. News warned that these rankings should not be the sole determinant in determining where to study. Location, culture, the strength of particular programs, and cost are also important considerations.
The overall ranking includes 2,250 institutions from 104 countries, with 13 indicators used to determine and measure global research performance.
These 13 indicators and their weights in the ranking formula can be found below:
| Ranking indicator | Weight |
| Global research reputation | 12.5% |
| Regional research reputation | 12.5% |
| Publications | 10% |
| Books | 2.5% |
| Conferences | 2.5% |
| Normalized citation impact | 10% |
| Total citations | 7.5% |
| Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited | 12.5% |
| Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited | 10% |
| Percentage of total publications that are among the top 1% of most highly cited papers | 5% |
| International collaboration | 5% |
| Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited in their respective field | 5% |
| Percentage of total publications that are among the top 1% most highly cited papers | 5% |
Best Universities in South Africa
When looking at South African Universities, UCT comes out tops, with a score of 70 and a global ranking of 116.
Despite the number one ranking, UCT’s acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation, Professor Jeff Murugan, warned that more must be considered.
“While rankings assess various aspects of university quality, such as academic reputation, research output, faculty expertise and student satisfaction, they often don’t capture the full breadth of the impact of our work,” said Murugan.
“These rankings typically focus on measurable criteria, but universities also play a vital role in shaping public policy, promoting informed public discourse, advancing science and strengthening democracy and human rights.”
“These contributions, though harder to quantify, are essential to the holistic value that universities provide to society.”
Thus, other rankings should also be considered when comparing universities.
For instance, according to the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, the University of Johannesburg is the best university in South Africa for driving meaningful change as per the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the U.S. News rankings, UJ only came in fourth place, with a score of 58.4 and a global ranking.
This was bettered by the usual University of the Witwatersrand (score of 61.9 and global ranking of 264) and Stellenbosch University (score of 60.0 and global ranking of 311.)
Overall, 15 South African universities made the list, with the University of Limpopo being the lowest rated (score of 17.2 and global ranking of 2,182).
| Local rank | Global rank | University | Score |
| 1 | 116 | University of Cape Town | 70 |
| 2 | 264 | University of the Witwatersrand | 61.9 |
| 3 | 311 | Stellenbosch University | 60.0 |
| 4 | 357 | University of Johannesburg | 58.3 |
| 5 | 401 | University of Kwazulu Natal | 56.8 |
| 6 | 439 | University of Pretoria | 55.8 |
| 7 | 540 | North West University | 52.9 |
| 8 | 726 | University of the Western Cape | 48.1 |
| 9 | 861 | University of South Africa | 45.5 |
| 10 | 912 | University of the Free State | 44.5 |
| 11 | 953 | Rhodes University | 43.4 |
| 12 | 1,181 | Tshwane University of Technology | 39.8 |
| 13 | 1,223 | Durban University of Technology | 39.0 |
| 14 | 1,268 | Nelson Mandela University | 38.2 |
| 15 | 2,182 | University of Limpopo | 17.2 |
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