Research in Pretoria
Science Explorer records 75 research institutions in Pretoria, South Africa. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022–2025 are University of South Africa, University of Pretoria and Tshwane University of Technology.
- Research institutions
- 75 15 of them ranked worldwide
- Research works
- 118k ▲ 12% vs 2013–17
- Top-10% rate, 2022–2025
- 21.2% record average 16.5%
A city carries no overall standing here. The composite 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 Pretoria?
| # | Institution | Works | Against the largest here | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of PretoriaUniversity | 49,319 | #691 | |
| 2 | University of South AfricaUniversity | 30,946 | #470 | |
| 3 | Tshwane University of TechnologyUniversity | 8,688 | #1,904 | |
| 4 | Council for Scientific and Industrial ResearchGovernment institution | 7,243 | #5,346 | |
| 5 | Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences UniversityUniversity | 2,522 | #2,898 | |
| 6 | Human Sciences Research CouncilNonprofit | 2,237 | #10,654 | |
| 7 | Agricultural Research Council of South AfricaGovernment institution | 1,665 | #9,060 | |
| 8 | South African National Biodiversity InstituteResearch facility | 1,397 | #14,911 | |
| 9 | Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic HospitalHospital / health system | 1,354 | #15,764 | |
| 10 | Onderstepoort Veterinary InstituteResearch facility | 1,256 | #12,696 | |
| 11 | Zuid-Afrikaans HospitalHospital / health system | 990 | #23,962 all time | |
| 12 | Department of HealthGovernment institution | 954 | #11,052 | |
| 13 | Foundation for Professional DevelopmentNonprofit | 822 | #24,662 | |
| 14 | South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (South Africa)Company | 814 | #9,028 all time | |
| 15 | National Research FoundationNonprofit | 796 | #6,093 | |
| 16 | South African National ParksGovernment institution | 686 | #21,886 | |
| 17 | Animal Production InstituteResearch facility | 644 | #27,291 | |
| 18 | Council for GeoscienceGovernment institution | 638 | #15,728 all time | |
| 19 | Steve Biko HospitalHospital / health system | 578 | #19,074 | |
| 20 | South African Reserve BankInstitution | 467 | #36,321 all time | |
| 21 | Institute for Soil, Climate and WaterResearch facility | 420 | #23,143 all time | |
| 22 | South African Environmental Observation NetworkResearch facility | 345 | #16,804 | |
| 23 | South African National Space AgencyGovernment institution | 282 | #22,186 | |
| 24 | Government of South AfricaGovernment institution | 276 | #23,462 | |
| 25 | Water Research CommissionGovernment institution | 274 | #32,539 all time | |
| 26 | South African Weather ServiceGovernment institution | 271 | #17,835 all time | |
| 27 | Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural DevelopmentGovernment institution | 251 | #22,148 | |
| 28 | Department of Correctional ServicesGovernment institution | 211 | #38,560 all time | |
| 29 | Department of Science,Technology and InnovationGovernment institution | 195 | #20,289 all time | |
| 30 | National Metrology Institute of South AfricaResearch facility | 192 | #27,262 all time | |
| 31 | Kalafong HospitalHospital / health system | 187 | #38,449 all time | |
| 32 | National Zoological Gardens of South AfricaArchive | 180 | #35,988 all time | |
| 33 | International Water Management InstituteResearch facility | 161 | #24,869 all time | |
| 34 | Institute for Security StudiesUniversity | 143 | #38,099 all time | |
| 35 | Academy of Science of South AfricaGovernment institution | 108 | not ranked | |
| 36 | South African Medical AssociationNonprofit | 102 | not ranked | |
| 37 | Bronberg ObservatoryResearch facility | 80 | not ranked | |
| 38 | Life Groenkloof HospitalHospital / health system | 79 | not ranked | |
| 39 | Institute for Global DialogueInstitution | 65 | not ranked | |
| 40 | Akademie Reformatoriese Opleiding en StudiesUniversity | 60 | not ranked | |
| 41 | Southern African Catholic Bishops ConferenceInstitution | 58 | not ranked | |
| 42 | National TreasuryGovernment institution | 57 | not ranked | |
| 43 | Weskoppies Psychiatric HospitalHospital / health system | 55 | not ranked | |
| 44 | Setshaba Research CentreInstitution | 47 | not ranked | |
| 45 | Optimed Eye and Laser ClinicHospital / health system | 30 | not ranked | |
| 46 | Armscor (South Africa)Company | 21 | not ranked | |
| 47 | National Library of South AfricaArchive | 18 | not ranked | |
| 48 | Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis NetworkInstitution | 14 | not ranked | |
| 49 | Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the EnvironmentGovernment institution | 13 | not ranked | |
| 50 | Cranefield CollegeUniversity | 11 | not ranked | |
| 51 | Netcare Jakaranda HospitalHospital / health system | 11 | not ranked | |
| 52 | Geoterra Image (South Africa)Company | 9 | not ranked | |
| 53 | Department of Arts and CultureGovernment institution | 9 | not ranked | |
| 54 | Climate Resilience Infrastructure Development FacilityResearch facility | 9 | not ranked | |
| 55 | Open Window School of Visual CommunicationUniversity | 8 | not ranked | |
| 56 | UmalusiInstitution | 8 | not ranked | |
| 57 | South African National AIDS CouncilGovernment institution | 8 | not ranked | |
| 58 | South African Veterinary FoundationNonprofit | 7 | not ranked | |
| 59 | Restorative Justice CentreNonprofit | 6 | not ranked | |
| 60 | National Heritage CouncilArchive | 6 | not ranked |
By fractional works over the whole record; world rank on research quality in 2022–2025. 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.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
What is Pretoria strongest at in research?
Relative to its size, research in Pretoria is most concentrated in Religious studies, Archeology and Library and Information Sciences (10.5× the world share in Religious studies).
- Religious studiesSubfield · 438.6 works10×
- ArcheologySubfield · 35.2 works9.2×
- Library and Information SciencesSubfield · 21.5 works4.5×
- Research and TheorySubfield · 28.1 works4.3×
- Public AdministrationSubfield · 55.3 works4.1×
- Business and International ManagementSubfield · 99.2 works3.8×
- Safety ResearchSubfield · 261.3 works3.8×
- DevelopmentSubfield · 87.9 works3.5×
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.
Which keywords describe research in Pretoria?
By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Colonialism, Higher Education, Globalization, Human Rights, Sustainability, Climate Change, Social Justice and Development.
- Ubuntu
- Welfare
- International Aid
- Gender-based Violence
- African Christianity
- Poverty Reduction
- Developmental Local Government
- Legal Research
- NGOs
- Judicial Review
- Public Participation
- Environmental Governance
- Nationalism
- Development
- Supply Chain Management
- Economic Growth
- Mental Health
- Higher Education
- Epidemiology
- Globalization
- Sustainability
- Climate Change
- Human Rights
- Colonialism
- Environmental Impact
- Social Justice
- Social Capital
- Religion
- South Africa
- Equality
- Inequality
- Constitutionalism
- Consumer Protection
- Postcolonialism
- Socio-Economic Rights
- Race
- Decolonization
- Humanitarianism
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems
- African Philosophy
Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 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
- Sustainability928▲ 1.52×111 topics
- Globalization922▲ 1.87×142 topics
- Climate Change884▲ 1.31×110 topics
- Epidemiology793▼ 0.80×133 topics
- Human Rights719▲ 2.8×67 topics
- Higher Education586▲ 4.3×30 topics
- Colonialism581▲ 4.9×36 topics
- Mental Health557▲ 1.51×43 topics
- Environmental Impact534▲ 1.25×66 topics
- Economic Growth480▲ 2.2×33 topics
- Social Justice478▲ 3.2×43 topics
- Supply Chain Management410▲ 1.75×25 topics
- Social Capital410▲ 3.1×20 topics
- Development401▲ 4.6×21 topics
- Religion354▲ 3.0×35 topics
- Nationalism315▲ 2.7×28 topics
- South Africa311▲ 46×4 topics
- Environmental Governance306▲ 19×5 topics
- Equality296▲ 20×5 topics
- Public Participation288▲ 51×3 topics
- Inequality284▲ 5.0×14 topics
- Judicial Review282▲ 12×5 topics
- Constitutionalism280▲ 12×4 topics
- NGOs278▲ 11×5 topics
- Consumer Protection277▲ 25×3 topics
- Legal Research277▲ 8.4×3 topics
- Postcolonialism275▲ 8.8×17 topics
- Developmental Local Government274▲ 99×1 topic
- Socio-Economic Rights274▲ 99×1 topic
- Poverty Reduction258▲ 7.8×6 topics
- Race251▲ 8.9×16 topics
- African Christianity245▲ 44×2 topics
- Decolonization240▲ 12×8 topics
- Gender-based Violence229▲ 16×3 topics
- Humanitarianism206▲ 13×3 topics
- International Aid204▲ 17×2 topics
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems202▲ 26×3 topics
- Welfare200▲ 15×3 topics
- African Philosophy197▲ 72×1 topic
- Ubuntu197▲ 72×1 topic
What research is done in Pretoria?
Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.
- 1 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 274 works
- 2 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 197 works
- 3 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 186 works
- 4 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 173 works
- 5 Christian Theology and Mission Religious studies 161 works
- 6 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 139 works
- 7 African studies and sociopolitical issues Sociology and Political Science 128 works
- 8 Online and Blended Learning Education 115 works
- 9 Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare Safety Research 105 works
- 10 Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences Management of Technology and Innovation 96 works
Research output over time
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more.