Journal profile · Multiple
Africa
ISSN 0001-9720 · eISSN 1750-0184 · Cambridge University Press
Africa: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,550; 154 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Africa is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are African history and culture studies, African history and culture analysis and Global Maritime and Colonial Histories, together about 41.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Anthropology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Reviews Editor: Joseph Mujere University of York, UKAfrica is the premier journal devoted to the study of African societies and culture. Editorial policy encourages an interdisciplinary approach, involving humanities, social sciences, and environmental sciences. Africa aims to give increased attention to African production of knowledge, highlighting the work of local African thinkers and writers, emerging social and cultural trends 'on the ground', and links between local and national levels of society. At the same time, it maintains its commitment to the theoretically informed analysis of the realities of Africa's own cultural categories. Each issue contains six or seven major articles, arranged thematically, extensive review essays and substantial book reviews. Special issues are published annually.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 22, United States 17, South Africa 6, Germany 3, Belgium 3 (60 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- African history and culture studiesSocial Sciences18.8%
- African history and culture analysisSocial Sciences14.8%
- Global Maritime and Colonial HistoriesSocial Sciences8.3%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.2%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences5.3%
- African studies and sociopolitical issuesSocial Sciences4.5%
- Agriculture and Rural Development ResearchAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.2%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Anthropology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Anthropology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Anthropology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 51Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.53LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.17LetPub ·
- h-index
- 108OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,526OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.23OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 23.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 72.22%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 24LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 12,364 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 53 | 24 | 1 |
| 2025 | 154 | 106 | 18 |
| 2024 | 100 | 43 | 52 |
| 2023 | 199 | 33 | 234 |
| 2022 | 101 | 33 | 202 |
| 2021 | 115 | 36 | 511 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,550 / GBP 2,460 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access articles
Latest issue Most cited Local Intellectuals Series IAI Lectures
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- ISSN
- 0001-9720
- Electronic ISSN
- 1750-0184
- Society / sponsor
- International African Institute
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Africa
What CAS zone is Africa in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Africa is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Anthropology / Area Studies. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Africa?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1; CiteScore 1.7, h-index 108.
Where are the editorial board members of Africa based?
Of the 60 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (22), United States (17) and South Africa (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Africa?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Africa is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Africa open access, and what is the APC?
Africa is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,550.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .