Journal profile · Multiple
African Affairs
ISSN 0001-9909 · eISSN 1468-2621 · Oxford University Press
African Affairs: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.11; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,544; 40 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
African Affairs is published by Oxford 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 studies and sociopolitical issues and African history and culture analysis, together about 52.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- African history and culture studiesSocial Sciences29.2%
- African studies and sociopolitical issuesSocial Sciences12.7%
- African history and culture analysisSocial Sciences10.5%
- Global Maritime and Colonial HistoriesSocial Sciences6.9%
- South African History and CultureSocial Sciences5.8%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences3.6%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences3.3%
- Historical and Contemporary Political DynamicsArts and Humanities2.9%
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 | Area Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
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
- 2.11LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.91LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.85LetPub ·
- h-index
- 148OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,116OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.48OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 46.97%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 22LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,983 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20 | 10 | 4 |
| 2025 | 40 | 18 | 24 |
| 2024 | 26 | 15 | 99 |
| 2023 | 39 | 19 | 260 |
| 2022 | 41 | 21 | 441 |
| 2021 | 35 | 11 | 417 |
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 | GBP 3,446 | — | — |
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- ISSN
- 0001-9909
- Electronic ISSN
- 1468-2621
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about African Affairs
What CAS zone is African Affairs in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, African Affairs is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Area Studies / Political Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of African Affairs?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.11; CiteScore 4.2, h-index 148.
Which databases index African Affairs?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, African Affairs is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is African Affairs open access, and what is the APC?
African Affairs is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,544.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .