ImpaQ Ecosystem•Clarivate, Scopus & CORE Data
Clarivate WoS 2024 / 2025 Data
IMPAQ
WoS SCIE Q2Scopus Q2SCImago #14,027Diamond OAHybrid

South African Journal of Science

Abbreviation (ISO):S. AFR. J. SCI
•
Identifier (ISSN):0038-2353(Print)
•
Publisher:National Research Foundation
Clarivate IF (2026)
1.9↓ -0.4
Journal Impact Factor
IF Trend↓
WoS Quartile
Q2
WoS SCIEJCR Quartile
Clarivate WoS JCR
WoS Categories↓
JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2018–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for South African Journal of Science

WoS Q2
01341.1920181.3520192.220212.1320222.420231.520242.320251.92026
Annual Impact Factor Metric
Current (2026):1.9
Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q2
0.407
#14,027

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025
H-Index (2025)
75

75 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRQ2
Self-Citation Rate6.7%
Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)
Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.
Volume & Open AccessHybrid
81articles/year
99.17% Gold OA•96.7% Original Research

Aims & Scope

The South African Journal of Science is a multidisciplinary journal published bimonthly by the Academy of Science of South Africa. Our mandate is to publish original research with an interdisciplinary or regional focus, which will interest readers from more than one discipline, and to provide a forum for discussion of news and developments in research and higher education. Authors are requested to write their papers and reports in a manner and style that is intelligible to specialists and non-specialists alike. Research contributions, which are peer reviewed, are of three kinds: Review Articles, Research Articles and Research Letters.

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)
Biology72.5%Geography55.6%Geology47.3%Ecology41.9%Medicine30.3%Physics30.2%Political science29.9%Chemistry28.6%Paleontology27.9%History27.3%Engineering25.5%Archaeology25%Environmental science24.8%Computer science24.2%Law21.9%
Primary Research Areas

WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI
JCRSCIE2026

MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

Q2
Rank64/140
IndexSCIE
JCISCIE2026

MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

Q2
Rank66/140
IndexSCIE

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year
2026Latest
IF1.9
Articles / Year80
Total Citations12
2025
IF2.3
Articles / Year145
Total Citations119
2024
IF1.5
Articles / Year168
Total Citations353
2023
IF2.4
Articles / Year136
Total Citations546
2022
IF2.134
Articles / Year152
Total Citations1,042

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #14,027Scopus Q2Diamond OASCImago Profile
Scopus Coverage:1973-2026
Scopus Broad Areas:Agricultural and Biological SciencesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyEarth and Planetary Sciences
Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q2
0.407

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q2
Citations / Doc (2 years)
1.24

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window
Estimated Publication Fee (APC)
100% Free

Diamond Open Access: Authors publish completely free of charge with zero author-facing fees.

Diamond Open Access

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations612
3-Year Documents378
Citable Documents267

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)1

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate52.4%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)Q2
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)Q2
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)Q3
Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth
Self-citation: 6.7%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):
3区 (Zone 3)Multidisciplinary Sciences
Minor Category (Specific Field):
3区MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
CAS Early Warning List History:
Updated annually: 2020 – 2024
2020
Not warned
2021
Not warned
2022
Not warned
2023
Not warned
2024
Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

South African Journal of Science (abbr: S. AFR. J. SCI, ISSN: 0038-2353) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of Multidisciplinary Sciences, published by National Research Foundation in South Africa since 1903. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 1.90, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 0.407 (Q2), an H-index of 75.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with a publication frequency of Monthly, an annual output of approximately 81 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Hybrid model with Diamond Open Access (100% free of author APC charges). It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.

Publishing & Editorial Information

Detailed publisher, peer-review turnaround, and publication cycle specifications

Open Access Model
Hybrid
Publisher
National Research Foundation
Publication Language
English
Frequency
Monthly
Founding Year
1903
Indexing & Databases
SCIEScopusDOAJPubMed
Editorial Address
ACAD SCIENCE SOUTH AFRICA A S S AF, PO BOX 72135, LYNWOOD RIDGE, SOUTH AFRICA, 0040

Similar Journals in Discipline

Journals in the same research field with comparable impact metrics

Record UUID: a0c0ef8c-87c9-4b0b-8f25-e39da93b2f94
Database Updated: 2026-10-01