R&D labs in South Africa

The 311 Institute tracks 48 R&D labs in South Africa: 20 research institutes, 19 government, 6 university, 2 corporate and 1 non-profit. Most are in Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and the leading organisations include South Africa government, Agricultural Research Council of South Africa and National Health Laboratory Service. Their main focus areas are infectious diseases, ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics, ecology and epidemiology.

Part of the 311 Institute Global R&D Labs Directory. Compiled by Matthew Griffin. Last updated 7 October 2026.

48labs

33organisations

11cities

45verified

Explore on the interactive map Book a Briefing

All 48 labs

Lab and organisation	Location	Type and sector	Focus	Founded
IBM Research Africa JohannesburgIBM	Johannesburg, South Africa	Corporate Technology	AI, Health tech	2016
Sasol Research and TechnologySasol	Sasolburg, South Africa	Corporate Chemicals and materials	Energy transition, Catalysis
Academy of Science of South AfricaAcademy of Science of South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Healthcare and life sciences	Genetics, Information Systems and Management, History and Philosophy of Science	1996
Agricultural Research Council of South AfricaAgricultural Research Council of South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Agriculture and food	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Genetics, Insect Science	1990
Institute for Deciduous Fruit, Vines and WineAgricultural Research Council of South Africa	Stellenbosch, South Africa	Government Agriculture and food	Plant Science, Biochemistry, Food Science	1997
Council for GeoscienceCouncil for Geoscience	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Environment and climate	Geophysics, Geology, Geochemistry and Petrology	1912
Council for Scientific and Industrial ResearchCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Environment and climate	Oceanography, Environmental Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering	1945
CSIR PretoriaCSIR South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Technology	Applied research	1945
Department of Science,Technology and InnovationGovernment of South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Chemicals and materials	Polymers and Plastics, Biomaterials, Information Systems and Management
National Health Laboratory ServiceNational Health Laboratory Service	Johannesburg, South Africa	Government Healthcare and life sciences	Infectious Diseases, Virology, Surgery	2001
National Institute for Communicable DiseasesNational Institute for Communicable Diseases	Johannesburg, South Africa	Government Healthcare and life sciences	Infectious Diseases, Virology, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Agricultural Research CouncilSouth Africa government	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Agriculture and food	Agriculture	1992
CSIR South AfricaSouth Africa government	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Basic science	Applied research	1945
iThemba LABSSouth Africa government	Cape Town, South Africa	Government Science and research	Accelerator physics, Isotopes	2002
MintekSouth Africa government	Johannesburg, South Africa	Government Energy and resources	Mining, Metallurgy	1934
NecsaSouth Africa government	Pelindaba, South Africa	Government Energy and resources	Nuclear, Isotopes	1999
South African Astronomical ObservatorySouth Africa government	Cape Town, South Africa	Government Science and research	Astronomy	1820
South African Medical Research CouncilSouth Africa government	Cape Town, South Africa	Government Healthcare and life sciences	Medical research	1969
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)South Africa government	Cape Town, South Africa	Government Basic science	Radio astronomy, SKA	2017
South African Population Research Infrastructure NetworkSouth African Population Research Infrastructure Network	Durban, South Africa	Government Healthcare and life sciences	Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Economics and Econometrics	2017
Water Research CommissionWater Research Commission	Pretoria, South Africa	Government Environment and climate	Water Science and Technology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ocean Engineering	1971
DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion BiologyStellenbosch University	Stellenbosch, South Africa	University Environment and climate	Nature and Landscape Conservation, Insect Science, Ecology	2004
University of Cape TownUniversities in South Africa	Cape Town, South Africa	University Multidisciplinary research	Medicine, Astronomy	1829
University of the WitwatersrandUniversities in South Africa	Johannesburg, South Africa	University Multidisciplinary research	Mining, Medicine	1922
Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive AstronomyUniversity of Cape Town	Cape Town, South Africa	University Space	Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Instrumentation	2015
Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in AfricaUniversity of Cape Town	Cape Town, South Africa	University Healthcare and life sciences	Infectious Diseases, Surgery, Immunology	2017
Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology InstituteUniversity of Pretoria	Pretoria, South Africa	University Healthcare and life sciences	Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Ecology	1997
African Institute for Mathematical SciencesAIMS	Cape Town, South Africa	Non-profit Science and research	Mathematics, AI	2003
Animal Production InstituteAgricultural Research Council of South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	Research institute Agriculture and food	Genetics, Agronomy and Crop Science, Animal Science and Zoology	1964
Institute for Soil, Climate and WaterAgricultural Research Council of South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	Research institute Agriculture and food	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Soil Science, Ecology	1902
Onderstepoort Veterinary InstituteAgricultural Research Council of South Africa	Pretoria, South Africa	Research institute Agriculture and food	Parasitology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Agronomy and Crop Science	1908
Anova Health InstituteAnova Health Institute	Johannesburg, South Africa	Research institute Healthcare and life sciences	Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Economics and Econometrics	2009
Bronberg ObservatoryBronberg Observatory	Pretoria, South Africa	Research institute Space	Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation, Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Cape Shoulder InstituteCape Shoulder Institute	Cape Town, South Africa	Research institute Healthcare and life sciences	Surgery, Epidemiology, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy StudiesCentre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies	Stellenbosch, South Africa	Research institute Industrials and manufacturing	Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Control and Systems Engineering	2007
ClinvetClinvet	Bloemfontein, South Africa	Research institute Healthcare and life sciences	Parasitology, Infectious Diseases, Small Animals	1999
DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health BiotechnologyDSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology	Pretoria, South Africa	Research institute Healthcare and life sciences	Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Ecology	2004
Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy ObservatoryHartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory	Krugersdorp, South Africa	Research institute Space	Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics	1961
IBM Research - AfricaIBM Research - Thomas J. Watson Research Center	Johannesburg, South Africa	Research institute Technology	Artificial Intelligence, Information Systems and Management, Safety Research	2013
International Water Management InstituteInternational Water Management Institute (IWMI)	Pretoria, South Africa	Research institute Environment and climate	Ocean Engineering, Soil Science, Water Science and Technology	1985
Kalahari Meerkat ProjectKalahari Meerkat Project	Kuruman, South Africa	Research institute Multidisciplinary research	Social Psychology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Developmental Biology	1993
Lancet LaboratoriesLancet Laboratories	Johannesburg, South Africa	Research institute Healthcare and life sciences	Infectious Diseases, Virology, Molecular Medicine
South African Institute for Medical ResearchNational Health Laboratory Service	Johannesburg, South Africa	Research institute Healthcare and life sciences	Molecular Medicine, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Epidemiology	1912
iThemba LaboratoryNational Research Foundation	Stellenbosch, South Africa	Research institute Nuclear	Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Radiation, Computational Mechanics	1983
South African Institute for Aquatic BiodiversityNational Research Foundation	Grahamstown, South Africa	Research institute Environment and climate	Aquatic Science, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Global and Planetary Change	1969
Scientific ServicesScientific Services	Cape Town, South Africa	Research institute Environment and climate	Nature and Landscape Conservation, Ecology, Global and Planetary Change	1969
South African National Biodiversity InstituteSouth African National Biodiversity Institute	Pretoria, South Africa	Research institute Agriculture and food	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Molecular Biology, Plant Science	2004
Africa Health Research InstituteWellcome Trust	Durban, South Africa	Research institute Healthcare and life sciences	Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Virology	2016

R&D ecosystems in South Africa

Organisations with labs in South Africa

Other countries in Africa

Questions and answers

How many R&D labs are there in South Africa?

The 311 Institute Global R&D Labs Directory lists 48 active R&D labs in South Africa as of October 2026: 20 research institutes, 19 government, 6 university, 2 corporate and 1 non-profit.

Which organisations run the most R&D labs in South Africa?

In this directory the organisations with the most labs in South Africa are South Africa government, Agricultural Research Council of South Africa and National Health Laboratory Service.

Where are R&D labs concentrated in South Africa?

They cluster around Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg. The largest R&D ecosystem is Johannesburg and Pretoria.

© 311 Institute 2016–2026. This directory is the proprietary work of the 311 Institute, protected by copyright and database rights. Copying, scraping or republishing any substantial part without written permission is prohibited.