All countriesAfrica · Country
ZA
South Africa
Plagiarism retractions per 100,000 publications, 2015–2024. Lower is better.
Rate / 100k
3.38
95% CI 2.0–5.8
Global rank
27/62
by rate (1 = highest)
Retractions
13
strict plagiarism findings
Publications
385k
385,126 works
In context
South Africa
3.4
Africa average
6.7
Global high · Pakistan
22.4
South Africa sits at 15% of the global-high rate — well within the lower half of tracked countries.
These figures count detected and reported plagiarism retractions, not total plagiarism. Coverage reflects English-language-indexed journals; a country with stronger oversight may record more, not necessarily commit more. See the methodology for the full caveats.