Rankings of universities in South Africa are largely based on international university rankings, since there are no South African rankings as of yet.

These international university rankings indicate that South Africa's university system is the strongest on the continent: it is home to 8 of the top 10 highest ranked African universities,^[1]^[2] including the three campuses consistently ranked as academically strongest in Africa, University of Cape Town,^[3] Stellenbosch University and University of the Witwatersrand.

Context on South African higher educational institutions

A 2010 report by Centre for Higher Education Transformation identified 3 different university clusters in South Africa, grouped according to function. The input variables used to group universities were:

Percentage of headcount enrolment in science, engineering and technology
Masters and doctoral enrolments
Student to staff ratios
Permanent staff with doctoral degrees
Private and government income
Student fee income

The output variables were:

Student success rates
Graduation rates
Weighted research output units per permanent staff member

The Red cluster constitutes the top research-intensive universities. The Blue cluster consists of institutions focused primarily on technical training, while the Green cluster includes institutions which show characteristics of both missions. The clusters are:^[4]

South African University Clusters
Red Cluster	Green Cluster	Blue Cluster
Top Research-Intensive Universities	Technical Training	Research-Intensive Universities & Technical Training
University of the Witwatersrand	University of the Free State	Vaal University of Technology
Stellenbosch University	University of KwaZulu-Natal	Central University of Technology
University of Cape Town	North-West University	Durban University of Technology
University of Pretoria	University of Fort Hare	Mangosuthu University of Technology
Rhodes University	University of Limpopo	Tshwane University of Technology
	University of the Western Cape	Cape Peninsula University of Technology
	University of Johannesburg	University of Venda
	Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	Walter Sisulu University
	University of Zululand

Rankings

In part because of the inherent difficulty of ranking complex educational institutions, there are an expanding number of competing international university ranking schemes, each with a different emphasis. Four of the most prominent are the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (most widely accepted), The Centre for World University rankings (CWUR), QS World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU, sometimes referred to as the "Shanghai Rankings").

Times Higher Education World University rankings

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the top South African universities as follows:^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]

Times Higher Education 2011 to 2024 South Africa Rank
SA Rank	University	World Rank
SA Rank	University	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011
1	University of Cape Town	167	160	183	155	136	136	171	148	120	124	126	126	103	107
=2	Stellenbosch University	301–350	251–300	251–300	251–300	251–300	251–300	351–400	401-500	301-350	276-300	301-350	301-350	251-275	-
=2	University of the Witwatersrand	301–350	251–300	251–300	201–250	194	194	251–300	182	201-250	251-275	226-250	226-250	251-275	-
4	University of Johannesburg	401–500	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601-800	-	-	-	-	-	-
=5	University of KwaZulu-Natal	501–600	401–500	351–400	351–400	401–500	401–500	401–500	501-600	401-500	-	-	-	-	-
=5	University of Pretoria	501–600	801–1000	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601-800	501-600	-	-	-	-	-
=7	North-West University	601–800	601–800	501–600	501–600	501–600	501–600	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
=7	University of the Western Cape	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601–800	601-800	-	-	-	-	-	-
=9	University of the Free State	801–1000	801–1000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
=9	Rhodes University	-	801–1000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
=11	Durban University of Technology	1001–1200	501–600	401–500	401–500	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
=11	University of South Africa	1001–1200	1001–1200	801–1000	1001+	1001+	1001+	801–1000	801+	601-800	-	-	-	-	-
=13	University of Venda	1201–1500	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
=13	Tshwane University of Technology	1201–1500	-	1001–1200	1001+	801–1000	801–1000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
=13	University of Venda	1201–1500	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
=13	University of Fort Hare	-	1201–1500	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

QS World University rankings

QS World University Rankings ranked the top South African universities as follows (before 2010 the ranking was known as the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings):^[19]

QS World University 2006 to 2024 South Africa Rank
SA Rank	University	World Rank
SA Rank	University	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2012	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006
1	University of Cape Town	173	237	226	220	198	200	191	191	171	141	145	154	161	146	176	200	257
2	University of Witwatersrand	264	428	424	403	400	381	364	359	331	318	313	363	360	321	319	282	322
3	Stellenbosch University	283	454	482	456	427	405	361	395	401-410	390	387	401- 450	-	-	-	-	-
4	University of Johannesburg	306	412	434	439	501-510	551-560	601-650	601-650	601-650	601-650	601-650	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	University of Pretoria	323	591-600	601-650	561-570	551-560	561-570	501-550	551-600	501-550	471-480	471-480	501-550	451–500	401–500	501–600	469	509
6	University of Kwazulu-Natal	621-630	801-1000	801-1000	801-1000	801-1000	751-800	701-750	651-700	551-600	501-550	501-550	551-600	501–550	501–600	401–500	487	484
7	North-West University	801-850	1001-1200	1001-1200	1001+	1001+	801-1000	801-1000	701+	701+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	University of South Africa	851-900	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	Rhodes University	901-950	801-1000	801-1000	801-1000	801-1000	801-1000	701-750	551-600	501-550	601-650	551-600	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	University of the Western Cape	951-1000	1001-1200	1001-1200	1001+	801-1000	801-1000	801-1000	701+	701+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	University of the Free State	1001-1200	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

ARWU/Shanghai

The Academic Ranking of World Universities has ranked the top South African universities as follows:

SA rank	University	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014^[20]	2013^[21]	2012^[22]	2010^[23]	2009^[24]	2008^[25]	2007^[26]	2006^[27]	2005^[28]	2004^[29]	2003^[30]
1	University of Cape Town	201-300	201-300	301-400	201-300	201-300	201–300	201–300	201–300	201–300	201–302	201–302	203–304	201–300	203–300	202–301	251–300
2	University of the Witwatersrand	201-300	301-400	201-300	201-300	201-300	201–300	301–400	301–400	301–400	303–401	303–401	305–402	301–400	301–400	302–403	451–500
3	Stellenbosch University	401-500	401-500	401-500	401-500	401-500	401–500	401–500	401–500	401–500	402–501	402–503	403–510	401–500	401–500	404–502	451–500
4	University of KwaZulu-Natal	401-500	—	401-500	401-500	401-500	401–500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	University of Pretoria	401-500	401-500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	University of Johannesburg	—	—	401-500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Note: These are the only ranked South African universities.

Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)

The CWUR ranked the top South African Universities as follows:^[31]^[32]

2018-19 SA Rank	University	2018-19	2015
1	University of Cape Town	223	248
2	University of the Witwatersrand	230	149
3	University of KwaZulu-Natal	402	401
4	University of Pretoria	438	678
5	Stellenbosch University	448	500
6	University of Johannesburg	790	-
7	North-West University	964	-

International Rankings for Additional Context

University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP)

URAP, which is a newer ranking scheme based solely on quantitative measures of academic productivity, includes data for a larger number of global universities, and thus gives an alternative view of the relative standing of more South African institutions. The 2020-2021 edition of URAP ranked the top South African Universities as follows:^[33]

SA Rank	World Rank	University
1	237	University of Cape Town
2	335	University of the Witwatersrand
3	362	University of KwaZulu-Natal
4	388	Stellenbosch University
5	458	University of Pretoria
6	603	University of Johannesburg
7	653	North-West University
8	883	University of the Western Cape
9	937	University of the Free State
10	1007	Rhodes University
11	1086	University of South Africa
12	1379	Tshwane University of Technology
13	1420	Durban University of Technology
14	1446	Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
15	2131	University of Limpopo
16	2132	Cape Peninsula University of Technology
17	2362	University of Fort Hare
18	2397	University of Venda
19	2591	Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
20	2764	University of Zululand
21	2911	Vaal University of Technology

Business-oriented rankings

Several international rankings schemes focus on the placement of graduates in business settings.

Times Higher Education Alma Mater Index

This is another THE ranking which aims to measure the real world success of a university's alumni by ranking Universities according to the number of their graduates that are currently CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies. The global number one for 2017 is by a considerable margin, Harvard University. The only African University that appears on the Global top 100 is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2017 South African rankings are as follows:^[34]

SA Rank	World Rank	University
2	54	University of the Witwatersrand

Tredence-Emerging Global Employability University Ranking

This is a global ranking of universities by the perceived quality of their graduates by top employers around the world. The only African university in the top 150 is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2013 ranking is as follows:^[35]

SA Rank	World Rank	University
1	139	University of the Witwatersrand

Bloomberg Billionaire Ranking

This ranks universities according to their popularity among US based billionaires. The only ranked South African university is the University of the Witwatersrand. The 2014 ranking is as follows:^[36]

SA Rank	World Rank	University
1	8	University of the Witwatersrand

v t e University ranking systems
Global	Academic Ranking of World Universities Center for World University Rankings CWTS Leiden Ranking Global University Ranking Mines ParisTech: Professional Ranking of World Universities Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities QS World University Rankings Round University Ranking SCImago Institutions Rankings Times Higher Education World University Rankings University Ranking by Academic Performance U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking Webometrics Ranking of World Universities World's Universities with Real Impact
Regional	European Union Latin America South East Asia
National	Australia Excellence in Research for Australia Brazil Canada Maclean's China BCUR Wu Shulian CUAA Netbig Germany CHE India Japan Going broke universities – Disappearing universities Truly Strong Universities Mexico ECUM Pakistan Russia South Africa United Kingdom United States Center for Measuring University Performance Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index Forbes The Princeton Review U.S. News & World Report Washington Monthly What Will They Learn?
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