Journal profile · HISTORY
African Historical Review
ISSN 1753-2523 · eISSN 1753-2531 · Taylor & Francis
African Historical Review: CAS Zone 4 · History (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 30 days (submission to first decision, publisher); 9 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
African Historical Review is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of History in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are African history and culture studies, South African History and Culture and African studies and sociopolitical issues, together about 57.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Anthropology and Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The African Historical Review (formerly Kleio: A Journal of Historical Studies from Africa) is an accredited, peer-reviewed journal with a long and distinguished history. Originally conceived as a research and teaching forum for histories taught in the Department of History at the University of South Africa and to promote the work of students and staff, the journal is now an international publication for high quality articles on a wide variety of historical subjects. The African Historical Review is independent of any professional society or association. Its mission is to be transdisciplinary, responsive to theoretical developments in research relating to the continent of Africa and within fields closely linked to historical and heritage studies . The journal welcomes contributions from both established and younger scholars on themes from or in Africa, and encourages innovative writing and research on a variety of topics and with an array of theoretical frameworks. The outstanding level of professional research and writing displayed in the journal has been recognised internationally, and since 2004 it has been an accredited academic journal by the Department of Higher Education and Training. All research articles published in The African Historical Review have undergone rigorous peer-review, involving initial editor screening and anonymized review by at least two referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HISTORY
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- African history and culture studiesSocial Sciences23.8%
- South African History and CultureSocial Sciences22.3%
- African studies and sociopolitical issuesSocial Sciences11.7%
- Global Maritime and Colonial HistoriesSocial Sciences6.2%
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences6%
- Historical and Contemporary Political DynamicsArts and Humanities5.3%
- Colonialism, slavery, and tradeSocial Sciences3%
- African history and culture analysisSocial Sciences2.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)History Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | History | Zone 4 |
| Minor | History | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)History Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | History | Zone 3 |
| Minor | History | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
African Studies Abstracts Online, America History & Life, Current Abstracts, Historical AbstractsPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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 (publisher) 2025
- 0.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 0.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.12LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.12Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.07LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.07Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 21OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 49OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.16OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10.34%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 5LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 9,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 372 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 4 | 3 |
| 2023 | 13 | 4 | 21 |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 2021 | 11 | 1 | 15 |
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.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Submission to first decision
- 30 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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
African Historical Review is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability a…
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1753-2523
- Electronic ISSN
- 1753-2531
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 56, Issue 1 (2025)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about African Historical Review
What CAS zone is African Historical Review in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, African Historical Review is in Zone 4 of History, and in Zone 4 of the minor category History. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of History. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of African Historical Review?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 0.3, h-index 21.
How long does peer review take at African Historical Review?
The publisher reports about 30 days (submission to first decision); first decisions include desk rejections. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index African Historical Review?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, African Historical Review is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is African Historical Review open access, and what is the APC?
African Historical Review is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .