South African national survey of research and experimental development: higher education at a glance, 2023/2024. Fact sheet 68

In 2023/24, national R&D expenditure rose to R28.6 billion, with the higher education sector contributing a substantial 36.4% of this total and continuing its upward trajectory with a year on year increase of R128 million. Unlike other sectors where applied research predominated, higher education research was primarily driven by basic research, which consistently accounted for more than half of the sector’s activity over the past decade. The sector also employed the largest share of the country’s R&D workforce, underlining the importance of investment in higher education institutions for building and maintaining a stable base of highly trained personnel needed to sustain an innovation-driven economy.