Top-cited scientists by field in South Africa

19 fields · 139 subfields · South Africa

In which fields are the top 2% scientists in South Africa?

1,034 researchers whose current affiliation is in South Africa are in the 2025 list of top-cited scientists, the annual ranking often called the Stanford–Elsevier top 2% scientists list, across 19 fields and 139 subfields. Clinical Medicine has the most (247, 23.9%), followed by Biomedical Research (97) and Biology (92); the largest subfield is General & Internal Medicine (85). A row opens its scientists in the table of all authors.

Field and subfieldListed authorsShareTop 100kHighest-ranked author
Clinical Medicine · 247 listed authors (23.9%)
General & Internal Medicine858.2%10Egger, Matthias #262
Pharmacology & Pharmacy151.5%5Hamman, Josias Hendrik #34,534
Cardiovascular System & Hematology131.3%9Sliwa, Karen S. #14,420
Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine131.3%4Henkel, Ralf Reinhold #10,441
Psychiatry90.9%7Stein, Dan J. #455
Sport Sciences70.7%3Noakes, Timothy D. #14,055
Tropical Medicine70.7%1Coetzee, Maureen #48,785
Dermatology & Venereal Diseases60.6%4Hamblin, Michael R. #84
Pediatrics60.6%0Morrow, Brenda M. #220,786
Surgery60.6%0Hardcastle, Timothy Craig #233,590
Dentistry50.5%1Benzian, Habib M. #55,481
Neurology & Neurosurgery50.5%1Figaji, Anthony A. #59,119
Respiratory System50.5%4Zar, Heather J. #6,162
Endocrinology & Metabolism40.4%1Cerf, Marlon E. #51,540
Legal & Forensic Medicine40.4%0Steyn, Maryna M. #191,100
Urology & Nephrology40.4%0Okpechi, Ikechi Gareth #129,594
Allergy30.3%1Warner, John Oliver #82,647
Anesthesiology30.3%1Biccard, Bruce Mclure #49,102
Immunology30.3%1Scriba, Thomas Jens #97,871
Emergency & Critical Care Medicine20.2%0Wallis, Lee A. #185,039
Gastroenterology & Hepatology20.2%2Kew, Michael Charles #44,778
Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging20.2%1Sathekge, Mike Machaba #58,853
Oncology & Carcinogenesis20.2%2Denny, Lynette A. #48,734
Ophthalmology & Optometry20.2%1Naidoo, Kovin Shunmugam #40,406
Orthopedics20.2%2Hohmann, Erik #42,093
Otorhinolaryngology20.2%1Swanepoel, De Wet #67,348
Arthritis & Rheumatology10.1%0F̀reeman, Melvyn Colin #124,035
Environmental & Occupational Health10.1%0Ehrlich, Rodney I. #504,637
General Clinical Medicine10.1%0Zemlin, Annalise Edith #936,506
Biomedical Research · 97 listed authors (9.4%)
Microbiology484.6%20Babalola, Olubukola Oluranti #1,188
Virology292.8%10Bekker, Linda-Gail Gail #13,664
Mycology & Parasitology80.8%0Mortimer, Peter Edward #103,018
Toxicology80.8%0Wright, Caradee Yael #100,018
Genetics & Heredity40.4%3Ziegler, Andreas #74,266
Physiology40.4%1McKechnie, Andrew E. #71,632
Nutrition & Dietetics30.3%1Norris, Shane A. #64,340
Anatomy & Morphology20.2%0Kramer, Beverley B. #594,485
Developmental Biology20.2%1Bergmann, Sven Michael #93,214
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology10.1%1Pepper, Michael S. #57,435
Biophysics10.1%0Jere, Sandy Winfield #393,292
Biology · 92 listed authors (8.9%)
Plant Biology & Botany292.8%14Eloff, Jacobus Nicholaas #8,318
Ecology252.4%23Bond, William J. #1,899
Zoology121.2%0Villet, Martin H. #250,123
Entomology111.1%3Nicolson, Susan Wendy #12,861
Marine Biology & Hydrobiology111.1%4Ryan, Peter G. #4,520
Ornithology30.3%0Underhill, Leslie Gordon #388,935
Evolutionary Biology20.2%1Johnson, Steven D. #15,404
Enabling & Strategic Technologies · 81 listed authors (7.8%)
Energy504.8%15Ebenso, Eno E. #7,540
Materials151.5%7Du Plessis, Anton #3,722
Biotechnology111.1%2Olaniran, Ademola Olufolahan #64,331
Optoelectronics & Photonics40.4%1Forbes, Andrew #2,727
Strategic, Defence & Security Studies30.3%0Dunne, John Paul #115,995
Bioinformatics20.2%2Dzobo, Kevin #18,449
Chemistry · 78 listed authors (7.5%)
Medicinal & Biomolecular Chemistry232.2%4Maroyi, Alfred #11,356
Inorganic & Nuclear Chemistry141.4%4Onwudiwe, Damian C. #14,211
Polymers141.4%6Ray, Suprakas Sinha #3,316
Analytical Chemistry90.9%2Musarurwa, Herbert #42,438
Organic Chemistry80.8%4Alberício, Fernando #15,306
General Chemistry70.7%0Odularu, Ayodele Temidayo #132,375
Physical Chemistry10.1%1Dry, Mark E. #68,912
Social Sciences · 64 listed authors (6.2%)
Education282.7%15Mhlanga, David #2,571
Cultural Studies101.0%1Nyamnjoh, Francis Beng #55,736
Information & Library Sciences80.8%2Ngulube, Patrick #87,214
Geography60.6%6Büscher, Bram E. #20,363
Law20.2%0Adelman, Sam #208,942
Science Studies20.2%2Schot, Johan A. #13,999
Social Work20.2%1van Breda, Adrian D. #46,398
Gender Studies10.1%0Pande, Amrita #100,536
International Relations10.1%1Abrahamsen, Rita #82,341
Sociology10.1%1Burawoy, Michael #11,278
Earth & Environmental Sciences · 62 listed authors (6.0%)
Environmental Sciences212.0%15Sillanpää, Mika E.T. #664
Geochemistry & Geophysics171.6%7Carranza, Emmanuel John M. #4,261
Geology111.1%2Beukes, Nicholas Johannes #42,734
Paleontology70.7%2Meadows, Michael E. #34,480
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences40.4%3New, Mark G. #39,836
Oceanography10.1%0Lutjeharms, Johann R.E. #109,337
Physics & Astronomy · 56 listed authors (5.4%)
Nuclear & Particle Physics242.3%8Ellis, George Francis Rayner #11,150
Applied Physics171.6%3Kaviyarasu, K. #12,713
Astronomy & Astrophysics70.7%7Dav́e, Romeel #9,716
Chemical Physics30.3%2Varadwaj, Pradeep Risikrishna #72,976
General Physics20.2%1Schuld, Maria #17,288
Acoustics10.1%0Heyns, Philippus Stephan #272,785
Fluids & Plasmas10.1%1Touchette, Hugo #37,358
Mathematical Physics10.1%1Owolabi, Kolade Matthew #19,507
Optics10.1%0Roux, Filippus Stefanus #226,237
Engineering · 54 listed authors (5.2%)
Mining & Metallurgy121.2%1Petersen, Jochen #87,817
Chemical Engineering101.0%8Malefane, Mope Edwin #29,975
Mechanical Engineering & Transports101.0%3Makinde, O. D. #4,358
Environmental Engineering80.8%4Scholz, Miklas #10,928
Geological & Geomatics Engineering40.4%3Mutanga, Onisimo #29,457
Electrical & Electronic Engineering30.3%1Hancke, Gerhard P. #59,013
Industrial Engineering & Automation30.3%2Chua, Chee Kai #11,258
Operations Research30.3%2Olanrewaju, O. A. #65,579
Aerospace & Aeronautics20.2%0Venter, Gerhard #368,332
Automobile Design & Engineering10.1%0Fröhling, Robert Desmond #941,050
Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry · 41 listed authors (4.0%)
Veterinary Sciences131.3%0Van Wyk, J. A. #104,651
Food Science111.1%7Opara, Umezuruike Linus #15,574
Agronomy & Agriculture101.0%5Coetzee, Corné J. #22,641
Dairy & Animal Science60.6%0Muchenje, Voster #158,466
Fisheries30.3%0Dube, Edith #151,571
Forestry30.3%0Sitholè, Bruce B. #322,359
Information & Communication Technologies · 35 listed authors (3.4%)
Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing151.5%8Ezugwu, Absalom El Shamir #3,561
Networking & Telecommunications141.4%2Kasongo, Sydney Mambwe #27,171
Computation Theory & Mathematics20.2%1Henning, Michael A. #49,084
Medical Informatics20.2%1Kelders, Saskia Marion #93,353
Information Systems10.1%1Verkijika, Silas Formunyuy #46,963
Economics & Business · 31 listed authors (3.0%)
Business & Management131.3%11Al Amosh, Hamzeh #18,360
Economics50.5%4Odhiambo, Nicholas M. #8,126
Development Studies30.3%3Devereux, Stephen #44,392
Sport, Leisure & Tourism30.3%3Del Chiappa, Giacomo #46,018
Agricultural Economics & Policy20.2%1Baiyegunhi, Lloyd S. #89,318
Logistics & Transportation10.1%1Ho, Chinh #61,995
Marketing10.1%1Kaur, Puneet #10,102
Public Health & Health Services · 25 listed authors (2.4%)
Public Health161.5%8Jewkes, R. K. #4,687
Rehabilitation80.8%1MacLachlan, Malcolm #55,263
Health Policy & Services40.4%2Gilson, Lucy #17,735
Nursing20.2%0Lubbe, Welma #243,195
Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology20.2%0Bornman, Juan #274,974
Substance Abuse10.1%1Parry, Charles D.H. #42,193
Historical Studies · 17 listed authors (1.6%)
Archaeology111.1%2Wadley, Lyn #44,529
Anthropology50.5%1Mbembé, Achille #3,763
History of Social Sciences10.1%0Fourie, Johan #234,760
Built Environment & Design · 13 listed authors (1.3%)
Building & Construction90.9%7Van Zijl, Gideon P.A.G. #32,908
Urban & Regional Planning40.4%4Watson, Vanessa J. #8,802
Communication & Textual Studies · 13 listed authors (1.3%)
Literary Studies80.8%0Hofmeyr, Isabel #122,807
Languages & Linguistics30.3%3Stroud, Christopher #75,794
Communication & Media Studies10.1%1Wasserman, Herman #60,064
Psychology & Cognitive Sciences · 11 listed authors (1.1%)
Experimental Psychology30.3%1Solms, Mark Leonard #30,543
Social Psychology30.3%3Steger, Michael F. #1,747
Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology20.2%1Barrett, Louise #74,843
Developmental & Child Psychology20.2%2Theron, Linda L.C. #38,352
Human Factors10.1%0Thatcher, Andrew #130,421
Philosophy & Theology · 9 listed authors (0.9%)
Religions & Theology60.6%0Nicolaides, Angelo C. #275,153
Philosophy30.3%2Metz, Thaddeus #17,475
Applied Ethics10.1%1Kass, Nancy E. #85,647
Mathematics & Statistics · 8 listed authors (0.8%)
Applied Mathematics60.6%3Atangana, Abdon #786
General Mathematics20.2%0Abbas, Mujahid #107,742
Statistics & Probability20.2%2Lesaffre, Emmanuel M.E.H. #47,968
Numerical & Computational Mathematics10.1%1Weideman, J. A.C. #91,173

1,034 listed scientists in South Africa

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