Keynote address by the Minister of Science, Technology, And Innovation on the occasion of the launch of the 2025 Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators report at the CSIR Convention Centre
Programme Director, Prof. Bavesh Kana;
Acting Director-General, Ms. Gugulethu Zwane;
Chairperson of the NACI Council, Mr. Tilson Manyoni and Members of the NACI Council;
CEO of the CSIR and our host, Dr. Thulani Dlamini;
Acting CEO of NACI, Ms. Anneline Morgan;
Heads of our Science and Academic Institutions;
Senior Government Officials;
Leaders of Business and Industry;
Esteemed Guest Speakers;
Distinguished Guests;
Members of the media;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am honored to speak to you today on the occasion of the formal launch of the 2025 Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators Report.
By way of context, our country’s 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology, and Innovation mandates our Department’s entity, the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI), to monitor and evaluate the performance of our country’s National System of Innovation (NSI).
In fulfilment of this task, NACI produces the annual STI Indicators Report. This Report is one of the essential tools we use to diagnose the state of our National System of Innovation, and it provides us with an evidence-based picture of our country’s innovation system and in particular, the strengths and weaknesses of our system and of course, the areas that require urgent attention and action.
This Report is therefore not just a collection of statistics. It is an instrument to inform policy, guide investments and enhance the role of science, technology, and innovation as a catalyst for industrialisation and improved quality of life.
Given the implications of this Report for national priorities and the strategic direction of our country, last year, I tabled it in Cabinet, in order to inform Cabinet of its findings. I am pleased to say that it was approved by Cabinet.
This year, we are launching the STI Indicators Report under the theme “Bridging the Gap: Using STI Data to Drive South Africa's Economic Future". This theme signals that the STI indicators cannot remain abstract measurements. They must actively shape STI policy and most importantly, they must give substance to government’s mission to achieve inclusive economic growth for all.
Highlights of the 2025 Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators Report
I now wish to reflect on some of the key findings of the 2025 Science, Technology, and Innovation Indicators Report. The Report presents us with a complex picture of a nation achieving bold milestones while confronting critical challenges.
In the area of higher education, our universities are becoming more representative and more capable. We have achieved gender parity among academic staff; female representation rose from 46% in 2010 to 52% in 2022. Black South African academic staff increased from 27% to 62% over the same period.
This matters because it stimulates a more diverse research community and ecosystem to address a wider range of research questions to address the country’s challenges.
The percentage of permanent staff holding PhDs increased from 35.7% in 2010 to 52.5% in 2022, more than half now hold the highest qualification in their fields. We are moving toward the national target of 75% for traditional universities by 2030.
Related to this, our research is becoming more competitive, influential, and globally connected. South Africa produced 25,775 scientific articles in 2023, ranking 29th globally and second in Africa behind Egypt. Beyond quantity, our research makes an impact.
South African publications consistently receive more citations than the global average, meaning the world is reading and building on the country’s knowledge production. This influence is strongest in health sciences, humanities, and natural sciences, fields where South African expertise shapes global understanding and knowledge contribution.
In the area of venture capital investment, the value of venture capital investments nearly tripled from R1.1 billion in 2022 to R3.3 billion in 2023. Behind these numbers are real startups, real entrepreneurs, real people taking risks to build something new. This signals that there is money in the system willing to invest in South African ingenuity.
We are making meaningful strides in digital governance. Our E-Government Development Index improved from 0.74 in 2022 to 0.86 in 2024. We now rank 40th globally and second among BRICS nations, behind only China. More citizens can access services online, and government is slowly becoming more responsive, more transparent, more efficient.
We are leading the rest of the African continent in digital connectivity. With 45.3 million internet users and a 74.7% internet penetration rate, we are leaders in digital connectivity on the continent. Our mobile connectivity score of 69.5 out of 100 tops Africa, meaning more South Africans have access to the digital tools that enable innovation, education, and economic participation.
Our manufacturing sector is contributing to employment. In 2023, formal manufacturing employment was 11% higher than in 2014, this is especially evident in high-tech industries. Behind this growth are families with breadwinners, young people starting careers, and communities with more stability.
We are making significant strides in agricultural innovation. Our plant breeders' rights applications surged from 263 in 2022 to 318 in 2023, placing South Africa among the global top five for agricultural innovation. Plant breeders' rights are like patents for new plant varieties—they protect the intellectual property of those who develop better and more productive crops. South African researchers are developing new varieties that the world wants.
We are also making significant advances in health innovation. Despite economic pressures, investment in health research has more than doubled; from R4.7 billion in 2013/14 to R10 billion in 2022/23. Health research now accounts for nearly a quarter of all South African R&D expenditure, demonstrating a clear national commitment to tackling disease, improving treatments, and building healthier communities.
We are breaking new ground in the area of space. In 2023, we launched nine objects into space, and our universities, particularly the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) with its nanosatellite programme—are developing the skills and technologies that will underpin a future space industry. This is high-tech industrialisation in action.
Challenges
Notwithstanding the commendable progress I have just highlighted, as stated, the Report also draws our attention to the areas of weakness that require urgent attention and action.
Our global competitiveness is declining. According to the Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness, our ranking fell from 60th in 2024 to 64th in 2025. And according to the Global Innovation Index, we dropped from 59th in 2023 to 69th in 2024. When investors decide where to put their money, these rankings shape perceptions and influence decisions. Right now, they are telling the world that South Africa is becoming less competitive.
Our Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is Falling. Our GERD as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined from 0.76% in 2017/18 to 0.61% in 2022/23.
As you know, our National Development Plan set a target of 1.5% by 2030. We are moving away from it and every percentage point of GDP not invested in R&D today has an impact on our future prosperity.
The investment of business in R&D remains weak. It concerns me deeply that the business sector's contribution to R&D fell from 45.9% in 2013/14 to a low of 30% in 2020/21. It recovered only to 35.4% in 2022/23. Government now funds more than half of all R&D, that is, 50.3%. In healthy innovative systems, business carries a larger share of R&D investment.
Our patent registration is declining. Patent applications have plummeted from 36.3 per million population in 2022 to 18.6 in 2023. We have halved our patent output in a single year. As we are aware, a patent is a declaration that someone has created something new and worth protecting. The decline in patents means we are creating fewer new things worth protecting.
We are importing more knowledge than we are exporting. This is one area that troubles me deeply. In 2023, we paid the rest of the world 1.6 billion US dollars for the rights to use their intellectual property (IP). We received only 167 million US dollars for our own IP.
Now, there is nothing wrong with importing knowledge; every successful economy does it. It is how we access global technologies and improve our productive capacity. Our concern is the scale of the imbalance.
In 2014, our share of global IP receipts among upper middle-income countries stood at nearly 6%. By 2023, that share had fallen to just over 1%. The message is clear: we are consuming knowledge, but we are not producing enough of our own.
Our human resources are misaligned. Our universities produced 225,702 graduates in 2022. But only 29% were in STEM fields; science, technology, engineering, and maths; 71% were in Business, Social Sciences, and Humanities. Those fields matter; they produce thinkers, leaders, and citizens. But if we want an innovation-led economy, we need more engineers, coders, and innovators.
Our researchers are stretched thin. The supervisory burden has intensified due to postgraduate enrolment growth (2.6%), outpacing permanent staff growth (1.8%), straining supervisory capacity and potentially impeding research output.
Equally concerning is the phenomenon of our ageing workforce. Between 2013 and 2023, the proportion of permanent staff with PhDs in the 20–29 age group declined from 7.8% to 4.7%, while those aged 60+ increased from 8.3% to 10.6%.
Our local innovation is failing. The Municipal Innovation Maturity Index assessed 22 municipalities. The average score was 2 out of 5. Most scored below 2. Innovation is written into policy documents, but it is not happening in the municipalities where citizens actually live. The gap between what we decide nationally and what gets delivered locally is wide and getting wider.
Our manufacturing output is stagnant. Despite employment gains, manufacturing output is still 5% lower than it was a decade ago. We are employing more people to produce less. This is the definition of a productivity challenge. We are working harder, but not smarter.
In conclusion, as stated, the 2025 STI Indicators Report seeks to provide us with an account of the state of our NSI and also guides us to implement evidence-based policy interventions. At a more fundamental level, this Report also aims to stimulate further investigation/research into selected topics of national interest and for us to understand their implications for our national priorities, and the future of our country.
By launching this Report, we are therefore not only inviting you to a critical conversation on its findings. We are also making a call to you to join us in forming a compact that will be geared towards translating the findings of this Report into coherent and sustainable policy actions, across key areas of national development.
It is now my honor and privilege to declare the 2025 STI Indicators Report officially launched. I wish you a productive session further and look forward to the outcome of your deliberations.
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