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City · South Africa

Research in Durban

Science Explorer records 31 research institutions in Durban, South Africa. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022-now are University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban University of Technology and Mangosuthu University of Technology.

Research institutions
31
7 of them ranked worldwide
Research works
57k
▲ 8% vs 2018-21
Citations
990k
17.4 per fractional work, all time
Top-10% rate, 2022-now
21.2%
all institutions 10.0%
Active span
1950-2026
77 years on the record

A city carries no overall standing here. The quality score is built for institutions and countries, the units its floors and field normalisation were designed around. An empty rank on this page is a statement about the measure, not about the place.

Which research institutions are in Durban?

#InstitutionWorksAgainst the largest hereWorld rank
1University of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity 43,888 #1,288
2Durban University of TechnologyUniversity 7,277 #2,637
3St. Mary’s HospitalHospital / health system 2,511 #22,049
4Mangosuthu University of TechnologyUniversity 1,039 #4,697
5Africa Health Research InstituteResearch facility 509 #4,900
6Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South AfricaInstitution 487 #6,996
7Management College of Southern AfricaUniversity 291 #15,381
8South African Association for Marine Biological ResearchInstitution 228 #30,937 all time
9South African Sugarcane Research InstituteResearch facility 184 #31,521 all time
10eThekwini MunicipalityGovernment institution 173 #22,437 all time
11South African Sugar AssociationInstitution 111 not ranked
12Africa Society for Blood TransfusionNonprofit 101 not ranked
13National Bioproducts Institute (South Africa)Company 94 not ranked
14Regent Business SchoolUniversity 86 not ranked
15Health Systems TrustNonprofit 83 not ranked
16Mahatma Gandhi Memorial HospitalHospital / health system 61 not ranked
17Production Management Institute of Southern AfricaUniversity 51 not ranked
18Illovo Sugar (South Africa)Company 40 not ranked
19African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of DisputesNonprofit 23 not ranked
20DamelinUniversity 10 not ranked
21Project EmpowerNonprofit 9 not ranked
22South African Society of AnaesthesiologistsNonprofit 9 not ranked
23AIDS Healthcare FoundationNonprofit 7 not ranked
24AIDS Foundation of South AfricaNonprofit 5 not ranked
25e-Waste Association of South AfricaInstitution 5 not ranked
26Childline South AfricaNonprofit 5 not ranked
27Khanyisa ProjectsInstitution 4 not ranked
28Molecular Diagnostics ServicesResearch facility 2 not ranked
29Conservancies KZNInstitution 1 not ranked
30Citrus Growers AssociationInstitution 1 not ranked
31The Browns' SchoolNonprofit 0 not ranked

By fractional works over the whole record; world rank on research quality in 2022-now. Bars are scaled to the largest institution in this city, not to anything off the page.

How concentrated the city is

The same institutions as shares of everything the list accounts for. A city that is one university and a city that is twelve read alike as a table and not at all alike here.

University of KwaZulu-Natal: 76.6%Durban University of Technology: 12.7%St. Mary’s Hospital: 4.4%Mangosuthu University of Technology: 1.8%26 others listed: 4.5%77%largest
University of KwaZulu-Natal44k · 76.6%Durban University of Technology7,277 · 12.7%St. Mary’s Hospital2,511 · 4.4%Mangosuthu University of Technology1,039 · 1.8%26 others listed2,580 · 4.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which fields of science does Durban work in?

In 2022-now, 34% of research in Durban is in Social Sciences, 32% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (17%), Medicine (17%), Engineering (10%). It does 1.4× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 4,480 fractional works · 33.5% of its workSocial Sciences: 2,258 fractional works · 16.9% of its workSociology and Political Science: 646 fractional works · 4.8% of its workEducation: 607 fractional works · 4.5% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 172 fractional works · 1.3% of its workLaw: 137 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGender Studies: 115 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSafety Research: 113 fractional works · 0.8% of its workUrban Studies: 85 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth: 58 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCommunication: 57 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDemography: 50 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAnthropology: 41 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPublic Administration: 30 fractional works · 0.2% of its workTransportation: 30 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 116 fractional works · 0.9% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 898 fractional works · 6.7% of its workStrategy and Management: 222 fractional works · 1.7% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 159 fractional works · 1.2% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 134 fractional works · 1.0% of its workAccounting: 125 fractional works · 0.9% of its workManagement Information Systems: 101 fractional works · 0.8% of its workBusiness and International Management: 76 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMarketing: 75 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.0% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 475 fractional works · 3.6% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 340 fractional works · 2.5% of its workFinance: 100 fractional works · 0.8% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 35 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychology: 430 fractional works · 3.2% of its workClinical Psychology: 173 fractional works · 1.3% of its workSocial Psychology: 140 fractional works · 1.0% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 58 fractional works · 0.4% of its workApplied Psychology: 29 fractional works · 0.2% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 28 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 219 fractional works · 1.6% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 56 fractional works · 0.4% of its workReligious studies: 33 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 130 fractional works · 1.0% of its workDecision Sciences: 200 fractional works · 1.5% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 130 fractional works · 1.0% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 53 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 17 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPhysical Sciences: 4,252 fractional works · 31.8% of its workEngineering: 1,313 fractional works · 9.8% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 355 fractional works · 2.7% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 206 fractional works · 1.5% of its workBuilding and Construction: 110 fractional works · 0.8% of its workMechanical Engineering: 105 fractional works · 0.8% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 99 fractional works · 0.7% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 74 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMedia Technology: 68 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAerospace Engineering: 66 fractional works · 0.5% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 54 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 44 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOcean Engineering: 39 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMechanics of Materials: 35 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 30 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 28 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 965 fractional works · 7.2% of its workEcology: 163 fractional works · 1.2% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 143 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPollution: 121 fractional works · 0.9% of its workWater Science and Technology: 107 fractional works · 0.8% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 85 fractional works · 0.6% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 83 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 78 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 70 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 61 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 34 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 20 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 626 fractional works · 4.7% of its workInformation Systems: 202 fractional works · 1.5% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 158 fractional works · 1.2% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 72 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 56 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 53 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputer Science Applications: 51 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 34 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 308 fractional works · 2.3% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 170 fractional works · 1.3% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 55 fractional works · 0.4% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 40 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 35 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 7 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 296 fractional works · 2.2% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 141 fractional works · 1.1% of its workBiomaterials: 71 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 54 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 29 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemistry: 285 fractional works · 2.1% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 185 fractional works · 1.4% of its workInorganic Chemistry: 33 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 32 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 35 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnergy: 172 fractional works · 1.3% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 131 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEnergy Engineering and Power Technology: 38 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.0% of its workMathematics: 138 fractional works · 1.0% of its workStatistics and Probability: 39 fractional works · 0.3% of its workModeling and Simulation: 28 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 70 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 89 fractional works · 0.7% of its workChemical Engineering: 60 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCatalysis: 28 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 32 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 2,981 fractional works · 22.3% of its workMedicine: 2,231 fractional works · 16.7% of its workInfectious Diseases: 296 fractional works · 2.2% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 284 fractional works · 2.1% of its workEpidemiology: 234 fractional works · 1.8% of its workSurgery: 143 fractional works · 1.1% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 141 fractional works · 1.1% of its workOncology: 98 fractional works · 0.7% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 91 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 82 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhysiology: 80 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 75 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEmergency Medicine: 70 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOphthalmology: 66 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPharmacology: 66 fractional works · 0.5% of its workObstetrics and Gynecology: 62 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 45 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 44 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComplementary and alternative medicine: 38 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeurology: 33 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPathology and Forensic Medicine: 28 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 255 fractional works · 1.9% of its workHealth Professions: 599 fractional works · 4.5% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 381 fractional works · 2.8% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 44 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 39 fractional works · 0.3% of its workHealth Information Management: 34 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 33 fractional works · 0.2% of its workOccupational Therapy: 30 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 39 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 112 fractional works · 0.8% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 96 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 17 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 26 fractional works · 0.2% of its workVeterinary: 13 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 1,653 fractional works · 12.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 845 fractional works · 6.3% of its workPlant Science: 341 fractional works · 2.6% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 116 fractional works · 0.9% of its workFood Science: 90 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 68 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSoil Science: 57 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInsect Science: 40 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 37 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAnimal Science and Zoology: 31 fractional works · 0.2% of its workAquatic Science: 30 fractional works · 0.2% of its workForestry: 30 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 498 fractional works · 3.7% of its workMolecular Biology: 291 fractional works · 2.2% of its workGenetics: 81 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 126 fractional works · 0.9% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 179 fractional works · 1.3% of its workImmunology: 54 fractional works · 0.4% of its workVirology: 45 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMicrobiology: 41 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 40 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeuroscience: 78 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 39 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 40 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 53 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology: 30 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workALL ITS WORKDurban13kfractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences12%Physical Sciences32%Health Sciences22%Social Sciences34%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this city does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Social Sciences4,48033.5%
    1. Social Sciences2,25816.9%
    2. Business, Management and Accounting8986.7%
    3. Economics, Econometrics and Finance4753.6%
    4. Psychology4303.2%
    5. Arts and Humanities2191.6%
    6. Decision Sciences2001.5%
    1. Engineering1,3139.8%
    2. Environmental Science9657.2%
    3. Computer Science6264.7%
    4. Physics and Astronomy3082.3%
    5. Materials Science2962.2%
    6. Chemistry2852.1%
    7. Energy1721.3%
    8. Mathematics1381.0%
    9. Earth and Planetary Sciences890.7%
    10. Chemical Engineering600.4%
  2. Health Sciences2,98122.3%
    1. Medicine2,23116.7%
    2. Health Professions5994.5%
    3. Nursing1120.8%
    4. Dentistry260.2%
    5. Veterinary130.1%
  3. Life Sciences1,65312.4%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences8456.3%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4983.7%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology1791.3%
    4. Neuroscience780.6%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics530.4%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What is Durban strongest at in research?

Relative to its size, research in Durban is most concentrated in Business and International Management, Virology and Public Administration (5.7× the world share in Business and International Management).

  1. Business and International ManagementSubfield · 70.3 works5.7×
  2. VirologySubfield · 38.4 works5.6×
  3. Public AdministrationSubfield · 23.5 works3.7×
  4. Management of Technology and InnovationSubfield · 120.3 works3.4×
  5. Infectious DiseasesSubfield · 262.7 works3.3×
  6. Safety ResearchSubfield · 96.3 works3.0×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient against the world baseline. Inside a single field a city is a meaningful unit, which is why this is where a city is measured at all.

The whole field profile

All 26 fields at once: above the ring is more than a place this size would be expected to do. A specialist and a generalist produce the same ranked list and a completely different shape.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1.34× its world share, 747 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.72× its world share, 450 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.31× its world share, 155 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.36× its world share, 68 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.21× its world share, 50 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.29× its world share, 53 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.43× its world share, 263 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.61× its world share, 556 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.41× its world share, 76 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.40× its world share, 151 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.66× its world share, 1,160 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.44× its world share, 843 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.63× its world share, 256 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.91× its world share, 125 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.05× its world share, 274 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.41× its world share, 23 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.74× its world share, 539 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.85× its world share, 1,928 worksMedicineNursing: 1.76× its world share, 101 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.69× its world share, 11 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.56× its world share, 190 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2.09× its world share, 792 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.54× its world share, 174 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.72× its world share, 433 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.04× its world share, 374 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.32× its world share, 1,959 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Business, Management and Accounting, 2.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Business, Management and Accounting2.09×792 works
  2. Nursing1.76×101 works
  3. Health Professions1.74×539 works
  4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.72×433 works
  5. Decision Sciences1.54×174 works
  6. Environmental Science1.44×843 works
  7. Chemistry1.43×263 works
  8. Energy1.40×151 works
  9. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1.34×747 works
  10. Social Sciences1.32×1,959 works
  11. Immunology and Microbiology1.31×155 works
  12. Chemical Engineering1.29×53 works
  13. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics1.21×50 works
  14. Physics and Astronomy1.05×274 works
  15. Psychology1.04×374 works
  16. Mathematics0.91×125 works
  17. Medicine0.85×1,928 works
  18. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.72×450 works
  19. Veterinary0.69×11 works
  20. Engineering0.66×1,160 works
  21. Materials Science0.63×256 works
  22. Computer Science0.61×556 works
  23. Arts and Humanities0.56×190 works
  24. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.41×76 works
  25. Dentistry0.41×23 works
  26. Neuroscience0.36×68 works

Which keywords describe research in Durban?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Sustainability, Antiretroviral Therapy, Epidemiology, Climate Change, Higher Education, Social Capital, Renewable Energy and South Africa.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this city's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Epidemiology593◆ 1.11×133 topics
  2. Sustainability529▲ 1.62×97 topics
  3. Climate Change475▲ 1.31×104 topics
  4. Machine Learning371▼ 0.83×88 topics
  5. Renewable Energy338▲ 1.75×49 topics
  6. Environmental Impact330▲ 1.45×59 topics
  7. Globalization319▲ 1.21×108 topics
  8. Mental Health298▲ 1.56×42 topics
  9. Human Rights250▲ 1.83×48 topics
  10. Higher Education245▲ 3.4×26 topics
  11. Social Capital240▲ 3.5×18 topics
  12. Antiretroviral Therapy228▲ 10×6 topics
  13. Supply Chain Management228▲ 1.90×23 topics
  14. Economic Growth206▲ 1.90×31 topics
  15. Social Justice174▲ 2.2×37 topics
  16. Vaccine172▲ 3.2×11 topics
  17. Leadership163▲ 2.5×28 topics
  18. Risk Management160▲ 2.5×15 topics
  19. South Africa140▲ 38×4 topics
  20. Poverty Alleviation136▲ 11×2 topics
  21. HIV Transmission133▲ 13×2 topics
  22. Maternal Mortality127▲ 4.2×5 topics
  23. Environmental Governance126▲ 14×4 topics
  24. Mortality Rates126▲ 9.9×2 topics
  25. Viral Load117▲ 11×2 topics
  26. Public Participation117▲ 40×2 topics
  27. Equality114▲ 15×5 topics
  28. Judicial Review112▲ 9.9×4 topics
  29. Legal Research111▲ 6.9×2 topics
  30. Consumer Protection111▲ 19×2 topics
  31. Constitutionalism110▲ 9.4×2 topics
  32. Developmental Local Government110▲ 79×1 topic
  33. Socio-Economic Rights110▲ 79×1 topic
  34. Poverty Reduction109▲ 6.3×7 topics
  35. Preexposure Prophylaxis107▲ 16×1 topic
  36. Stigma and Discrimination107▲ 16×1 topic
  37. Community Health Workers97▲ 8.2×2 topics
  38. Entrepreneurial Orientation92▲ 8.5×1 topic
  39. Opportunity Recognition92▲ 8.5×1 topic
  40. Adolescent Health91▲ 8.2×3 topics

What research is done in Durban?

  1. 1 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 102 works
  2. 2 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 93 works
  3. 3 Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences Management of Technology and Innovation 85 works
  4. 4 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health General Health Professions 77 works
  5. 5 Innovation and Socioeconomic Development Business and International Management 70 works
  6. 6 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 69 works
  7. 7 Cosmology and Gravitation Theories Astronomy and Astrophysics 58 works
  8. 8 COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Economics and Econometrics 53 works
  9. 9 Urban and Rural Development Challenges Urban Studies 51 works
  10. 10 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 51 works

Research output over time

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%30%Durban20.4% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 26.9% in 2016.

Discussion

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