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University · Polokwane · South Africa

University of Limpopo

In research, University of Limpopo stands highest in Social Sciences (#606 of 6,365 worldwide), Social Sciences (#1,176 of 10,521 worldwide) and Education (#460 of 1,892 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Animal Science and Zoology, Agronomy and Crop Science and Law — Animal Science and Zoology is 7.0× its share of world research.

ul.ac.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#3,327
of 28,054 · #6,390 all time
Rank in South Africa
#20
of 87
Research works
7.3k
▲ 11% vs 2013–17
Citations
70k
9.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
16.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
62%
world 28%

What is University of Limpopo known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesField #606 of 6,365 23.3%511 #1028
Social SciencesDomain #1,176 of 10,521 19.4%918 #1628
EducationSubfield #460 of 1,892 26.8%148 #934
Health SciencesDomain #3,018 of 11,982 13.0%372 #3673
LawSubfield #112 of 431 30.6%69 #189
Physical SciencesDomain #3,481 of 12,888 13.4%476 #8157
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #1,066 of 3,409 15.4%320 #1459
MedicineField #4,321 of 10,443 11.9%249 #5063
Environmental ScienceField #1,849 of 3,551 15.8%119 #2728
Life SciencesDomain #4,144 of 7,800 14.5%430 #6247

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Limpopo sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#1,028 #606
  2. Social Sciences#1,628 #1,176
  3. Education#934 #460
  4. Health Sciences#3,673 #3,018
  5. Law#189 #112
  6. Physical Sciences#8,157 #3,481
  7. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#1,459 #1,066
  8. Medicine#5,063 #4,321
  9. Environmental Science#2,728 #1,849
  10. Life Sciences#6,247 #4,144
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does University of Limpopo specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Animal Science and Zoology takes 7.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Animal Science and ZoologySubfield · 33.9 works7.0×
  2. Agronomy and Crop ScienceSubfield · 30.7 works5.9×
  3. LawSubfield · 68.8 works5.4×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 3.07× its world share, 320 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.74× its world share, 86 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.65× its world share, 14 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.08× its world share, 3 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.76× its world share, 6 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.44× its world share, 3 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.65× its world share, 22 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.55× its world share, 93 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.25× its world share, 9 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.88× its world share, 18 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.37× its world share, 122 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.09× its world share, 119 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.87× its world share, 66 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.66× its world share, 17 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.12× its world share, 6 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.67× its world share, 97 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.59× its world share, 248 worksMedicineNursing: 1.78× its world share, 19 worksNursingVeterinary: 2.20× its world share, 7 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.86× its world share, 55 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.71× its world share, 121 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.57× its world share, 33 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.20× its world share, 103 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.42× its world share, 95 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.84× its world share, 511 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 3.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Limpopo?

Ranked on the composite score, J Lemmer, L. Feller and Anthony V. Rawlings lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Limpopo.

  1. 1 J Lemmer South Africa · #117,179 worldwide 148 citations · 36 works
  2. 2 L. Feller South Africa · #206,963 worldwide 99 citations · 25 works
  3. 3 Anthony V. Rawlings South Africa · #278,351 worldwide 89 citations · 22 works
  4. 4 A. Duncan Steele South Africa · #303,016 worldwide 141 citations · 39 works
  5. 5 M.J. Potgieter South Africa · #439,779 worldwide 68 citations · 39 works
  6. 6 J Booyens South Africa · #441,083 worldwide 66 citations · 25 works
  7. 7 Olawale Fatoki South Africa · #463,104 worldwide 156 citations · 37 works
  8. 8 Marianne Alberts South Africa · #577,746 worldwide 85 citations · 16 works
  9. 9 Makhura Benjamin Rapanyane South Africa · #628,964 worldwide 26 citations · 17 works
  10. 10 U Mennen South Africa · #712,046 worldwide 16 citations · 20 works
All ranked researchers at University of Limpopo

Which keywords describe research at University of Limpopo?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Human Rights, Genetic Diversity, Environmental Governance, Public Participation, Judicial Review, Legal Research, Equality and Constitutionalism.

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

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution'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. Human Rights94▲ 4.2×35 topics
  2. Globalization83▲ 1.92×58 topics
  3. Epidemiology78◆ 0.89×84 topics
  4. Mental Health68▲ 2.1×33 topics
  5. Climate Change67◆ 1.13×61 topics
  6. Sustainability64▲ 1.20×48 topics
  7. Genetic Diversity63▲ 6.5×20 topics
  8. Environmental Governance56▲ 39×4 topics
  9. Public Participation54▲ 110×2 topics
  10. Judicial Review54▲ 27×4 topics
  11. Higher Education54▲ 4.5×21 topics
  12. Sustainable Development54▲ 1.54×35 topics
  13. Legal Research54▲ 19×3 topics
  14. Equality54▲ 40×4 topics
  15. Constitutionalism53▲ 25×2 topics
  16. Consumer Protection53▲ 54×2 topics
  17. Developmental Local Government52▲ 216×1 topic
  18. Socio-Economic Rights52▲ 216×1 topic
  19. Economic Growth51▲ 2.7×19 topics
  20. South Africa50▲ 84×4 topics
  21. Sustainable Agriculture42▲ 6.0×13 topics
  22. Biodiversity40▲ 2.5×24 topics
  23. Biological Control39▲ 12×6 topics
  24. Nematodes37▲ 35×3 topics
  25. Phylogenetic Relationships36▲ 23×3 topics
  26. Rural Development35▲ 4.5×11 topics
  27. Colonialism34▲ 3.3×11 topics
  28. Genome Sequence33▲ 18×4 topics
  29. Molecular Pathology33▲ 14×4 topics
  30. Gender-based Violence32▲ 26×3 topics
  31. Plant-Parasitic32▲ 61×1 topic
  32. Soil Food Web32▲ 61×1 topic
  33. Cathode Materials32▲ 3.7×3 topics
  34. Inequality31▲ 6.1×5 topics
  35. Gender Equality28▲ 4.6×12 topics
  36. Race26▲ 11×7 topics
  37. economic empowerment24▲ 70×1 topic
  38. protests24▲ 142×1 topic
  39. Poverty Reduction24▲ 8.3×4 topics
  40. Poverty Alleviation22▲ 10×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Limpopo publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Legal Issues in South Africa, Nematode management and characterization studies, South African History and Culture and Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock.

Legal Issues in South Af…52Legal Issues in South Africa: 52 fractional worksNematode management and characterization studies: 32 fractional worksSouth African History and Culture: 24 fractional worksGenetic and phenotypic traits in livestock: 17 fractional worksAdvancements in Battery Materials: 17 fractional worksAgricultural Innovations and Practices: 16 fractional worksInnovation and Socioeconomic Development: 16 fractional worksParasite Biology and Host Interactions: 16 fractional worksAfrican cultural and philosophical studies: 14 fractional worksAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: 14 fractional works
LawPlant ScienceSociology and Political ScienceGenetics6 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 52 works
  2. 2 Nematode management and characterization studies Plant Science 32 works
  3. 3 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 24 works
  4. 4 Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock Genetics 17 works
  5. 5 Advancements in Battery Materials Electrical and Electronic Engineering 17 works
  6. 6 Agricultural Innovations and Practices General Agricultural and Biological Sciences 16 works
  7. 7 Innovation and Socioeconomic Development Business and International Management 16 works
  8. 8 Parasite Biology and Host Interactions Ecology 16 works
  9. 9 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 14 works
  10. 10 Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health General Health Professions 14 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available62.4%not open37.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.0%domestic only88.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Limpopo's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 11% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Polokwane

All research institutions in Polokwane

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.