Journal profile · Multidisciplinary-Multidisciplinary
Scientific African
ISSN 2468-2276 · Elsevier · Netherlands
Scientific African: CAS Zone 3 · Multidisciplinary (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.7 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 770; review about 136 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 637 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Scientific African is a peer-reviewed, open-access, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary journal dedicated to advancing scientific research that serves the African community and contributes to the development of the African continent.The journal provides a highly visible platform for publishing research on issues relevant to Africa, including studies addressing the continent’s scientific, technological, environmental, health, economic, social and policy challenges. It also welcomes research conducted by African scientists, including researchers of African origin who may be affiliated with institutions outside Africa.The journal is committed to expanding access to African research, promoting intra-African scientific collaboration, strengthening research capacity, and increasing the global visibility of research conducted by African scientists. It welcomes high-quality submissions from all scientific disciplines, including:Agriculture and Food Security (AGF)Chemistry (CHE)Conservation and Sustainability Studies (CON)Economics and Business (ECO)Environmental and Geosciences (ENV)Information Technology and Engineering (ITE)Life and Health Sciences (LIF)Mathematics (MAT)Physical Sciences (PHY)Social Sciences and Policy (SOC)Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI and ML)The journal publishes original research articles and review papers, as well as invited perspectives and critical policy papers, provided that they demonstrate clear relevance to Africa, the African community, or the advancement of research by African scientists.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multidisciplinary-Multidisciplinary
Editor-in-chief Mohamed El-AminPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 5%); most named Egypt 10, South Africa 8, Nigeria 8, United Kingdom 6, Canada 4 (62 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Energy and Environment ImpactsEnvironmental Science6.2%
- COVID-19 epidemiological studiesMathematics5.7%
- Agricultural Innovations and PracticesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.5%
- Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.2%
- Essential Oils and Antimicrobial ActivityAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.1%
- Child Nutrition and Water AccessNursing4.7%
- Heavy metals in environmentEnvironmental Science4.5%
- Statistical Distribution Estimation and ApplicationsMathematics4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Multidisciplinary Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Multidisciplinary Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | 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
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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 (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.64LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- h-index
- 74OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,184OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.09OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.93%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 597LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,514 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 492 | 492 | 136 |
| 2025 | 637 | 637 | 1,726 |
| 2024 | 454 | 454 | 3,033 |
| 2023 | 492 | 492 | 6,202 |
| 2022 | 426 | 426 | 6,068 |
| 2021 | 384 | 384 | 6,931 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 3 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 60 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 136 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 21 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 770 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 590 / EUR 550 / GBP 470 / JPY 73,180 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 200 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 950 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- editorialResearch papers - original full-length research papers that have not been published previously, except in a preliminary form, and should not exceed 7,500 words …Length not stated
- letterResearch papers - original full-length research papers that have not been published previously, except in a preliminary form, and should not exceed 7,500 words …Length not stated
- letters to the editorResearch papers - original full-length research papers that have not been published previously, except in a preliminary form, and should not exceed 7,500 words …Length not stated
- research paperResearch papers - original full-length research papers that have not been published previously, except in a preliminary form, and should not exceed 7,500 words …main text ≤ 7,500 words
- review articleResearch papers - original full-length research papers that have not been published previously, except in a preliminary form, and should not exceed 7,500 words …Length not stated
- review articlesReview articles - will be accepted in areas of topical interest, will normally focus on literature published over the previous five years, and should not exceed…Length not stated
- short communicationResearch papers - original full-length research papers that have not been published previously, except in a preliminary form, and should not exceed 7,500 words …main text ≤ 3,000 words
- short communicationsShort communications - Short communications of up to 3000 words from introduction to conclusion (not including references), describing work that may be of a pre…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Elsevier Publishing Ethics Policy Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2468-2276
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Scientific African
What CAS zone is Scientific African in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Scientific African is in Zone 3 of Multidisciplinary, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Multidisciplinary Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Multidisciplinary. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Scientific African?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.7; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 6.7, h-index 74.
How long does peer review take at Scientific African?
The publisher reports about 136 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 10 weeks. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Scientific African?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Author–date; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Scientific African based?
Of the 62 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Egypt (10), South Africa (8) and Nigeria (8). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Scientific African?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Scientific African is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Scientific African open access, and what is the APC?
Scientific African is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 770.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .