Annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence in South Africa

South Africa: Annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence was 1,117 publications in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1,117 publications
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
50th
of 165 countries
All-time high
1,119 publications
in 2023
All-time low
320 publications
in 2017
Years of data
9
2016–2024

Annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence in South Africa, 2016–2024

4006008001.0k1.2k2016202020242016: 358 publications2017: 320 publications2018: 403 publications2019: 511 publications2020: 729 publications2021: 833 publications2022: 845 publications2023: 1.1k publications2024: 1.1k publications

Source: Center for Security and Emerging Technology (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in publications.

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence in South Africa is 1,117 publications, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and up 212.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence in South Africa peaked at 1,119 publications in 2023 and was at its lowest, 320 publications, in 2017.

That places South Africa 50th out of 165 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 398 publications 320 publications 511 publications 4
2020s 928.6 publications 729 publications 1,119 publications 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 47 Algeria 1,228 publications compare
  2. 48 Jordan 1,175 publications compare
  3. 49 Philippines 1,133 publications compare
  4. 51 Tunisia 930 publications compare
  5. 52 Hungary 918 publications compare
  6. 53 New Zealand 906 publications compare

See the full ranking of 165 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence in South Africa?
Annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence in South Africa was 1,117 publications in 2024, according to Center for Security and Emerging Technology (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1,119 publications in 2023.
What is the lowest annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 320 publications in 2017.
How does South Africa rank for annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence?
South Africa ranks 50th out of 165 countries with data for 2024.
Is annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 212.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Center for Security and Emerging Technology (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Annual scholarly publications on artificial intelligence
Unit
publications
Source
Center for Security and Emerging Technology (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
165 places, 1,421 data points, 2016–2024
Last refreshed

Scholarly publications on AI, including journal articles, conference papers, working papers, and preprints. The data only covers articles with an English-language title or abstract.