Who delivers outcomes?

South Africa has 26 public universities split into Comprehensive (11), Traditional (6), and Universities of Technology (9). Plus a fast-growing private sector.

Largest enrollers, 2023

First-time entrants and total enrolment from DHET HEMIS.

UNISA

Distance learning — largest in Africa

53,128

first-time

~450,000 total

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)

Engineering, IT, Built Environment

14,737

first-time

~60,000 total

University of Johannesburg (UJ)

Business, Engineering, Humanities

13,000

first-time

~53,000 total

University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)

Medicine, Engineering, Law

12,000

first-time

~45,000 total

University of Pretoria (UP)

Engineering, Veterinary, Business

11,500

first-time

~55,000 total

University of Cape Town (UCT)

Africa's top-ranked — medicine, law, finance

8,000

first-time

~30,000 total

Stellenbosch University

Engineering, Agriculture, Business

7,500

first-time

~32,000 total

Source: DHET Statistics on Post-School Education and Training 2023 (HEMIS, Nov 2024)

"
Top SA graduate employers preferentially hire from UCT, Wits, Stellenbosch and UP. For ICT and certain business roles, employers focus on skills demonstration over institution prestige.
— SAGEA Employer Benchmarking

Public vs private

Public HEIs

220,758

graduates 2023 across 26 institutions

Private HEIs

60,927

graduates 2023 (+6.3% YoY) — fastest growth in ICT and short courses

Source: DHET HEMIS 2023