Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Topic · Sociology and Political Science

African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues

African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 7.5k research works in it since 1952. 20.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the diverse landscape of sexualities, politics, and cultural discourse surrounding LGBT rights and human rights in Africa. It delves into the intersections of sexuality, gender, colonialism, and postcolonial politics, shedding light on the complexities of homophobia, queer studies, and the challenges faced by sexual minorities. The papers also address the impact of religion, media, and global influences on the discourse around sexuality in African societies.

  • Sexuality
  • Africa
  • Homophobia
  • Politics
  • Gender
  • Human Rights
  • Colonialism
  • Queer Studies
  • LGBT Rights
  • Cultural Discourse
Research works
7.5k
fractional, since 1952
In the world top 10%
1.5k
per year above
Top-10% rate
20.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+38%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues research?

By volume, the United States and South Africa publish the most (505 and 193 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 505 works
  2. 2 South Africa 193 works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 177 works
  4. 4 India 137 works
  5. 5 Canada 98 works
  6. 6 Brazil 70 works
  7. 7 Nigeria 65 works
  8. 8 France 65 works
  9. 9 Germany 58 works
  10. 10 Australia 54 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 35.5%South Africa: 13.6%United Kingdom: 12.4%India: 9.6%6 others listed: 28.9%36%largest
United States505 · 35.5%South Africa193 · 13.6%United Kingdom177 · 12.4%India137 · 9.6%6 others listed411 · 28.9%

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

Which institutions lead African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues research?

By volume in 2022–2025, University of South Africa publishes the most African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues research, followed by University of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch University.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 29 works
  2. 2 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 21 works
  3. 3 Stellenbosch UniversitySouth Africa 20 works
  4. 4 University of PretoriaSouth Africa 19 works
  5. 5 University of the WitwatersrandSouth Africa 17 works
  6. 6 University of the Free StateSouth Africa 14 works
  7. 7 University of KwaZulu-NatalSouth Africa 14 works
  8. 8 University of TorontoCanada 13 works
  9. 9 University of the Western CapeSouth Africa 12 works
  10. 10 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 11 works

Where is African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues research done?

The largest centres of African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues research in 2022–2025 are Pretoria (South Africa), London (United Kingdom), Johannesburg (South Africa) and New York (United States). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Stellenbosch, Pretoria and Nairobi.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Pretoria South Africa 52 works
  2. 2 London United Kingdom 40 works
  3. 3 Johannesburg South Africa 38 works
  4. 4 New York United States 30 works
  5. 5 Nairobi Kenya 28 works
  6. 6 Toronto Canada 26 works
  7. 7 Paris France 25 works
  8. 8 Stellenbosch South Africa 20 works
  9. 9 Durban South Africa 17 works
  10. 10 Melbourne Australia 16 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. StellenboschZA · 20.5 works26×
  2. PretoriaZA · 52.1 works23×
  3. NairobiKE · 27.7 works17×
  4. JohannesburgZA · 38.4 works16×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues than the world average.

See African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues on the map

Where is the best place to study African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues?

Among universities, judged by research, University of South Africa, University of Johannesburg and University of the Witwatersrand score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 17.08%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →University of South Africa: 30, 20.9%University of Johannesburg: 21, 19.2%University of the Witwatersrand: 17, 14.4%University of Cape Town: 11, 20.8%University of Pretoria: 18, 18.9%University of KwaZulu-Natal: 14, 23.1%Stellenbosch University: 20, 6.7%University of Ghana: 11, 14.5%University of Toronto: 13, 23.3%University of the Western Cape: 12, 9.0%University of South …University of Cape T…University of Johann…University of the Wi…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 81.420.9%35.8×30 +42.5%
2 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 77.919.2%17.5×21 +63.7%
3 University of the WitwatersrandSouth Africa 73.814.4%21.9×17 +136.6%
4 University of Cape TownSouth Africa 73.320.8%18.8×11 +74.6%
5 University of PretoriaSouth Africa 71.318.9%23.1×18 +10.0%
6 University of KwaZulu-NatalSouth Africa 70.523.1%20.5×14 -23.6%
7 Stellenbosch UniversitySouth Africa 70.36.7%28.8×20 +277.4%
8 University of GhanaGhana 63.514.5%27.6×11 +68.5%
9 University of TorontoCanada 57.523.3%4.7×13 +89.9%
10 University of the Western CapeSouth Africa 54.59.0%42.1×12 +55.6%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 38% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.