South Africa · Eastern Cape
Nelson Mandela University
Gqeberha, Eastern Cape · Comprehensive university
mandela.ac.za →Students, 2024
32,954
3.0% of all public university students
First-time undergraduates
7,895
entering in 2024
Graduates, 2024
6,708
State funding, 2024/25
R1.85 billion
total amount allocated
Who studies what
Students by field
- Science, engineering & technology11,087 · 33.6%
- Business & management11,923 · 36.2%
- Education2,382 · 7.2%
- Other humanities & social sciences7,562 · 22.9%
Students by qualification
- Occasional students156 · 0.5%
- Undergraduate certificates & diplomas12,049 · 36.6%
- Undergraduate degrees15,878 · 48.2%
- Advanced diploma & PGCE1,635 · 5.0%
- Postgraduate, below master's1,280 · 3.9%
- Master's degrees1,388 · 4.2%
- Doctoral degrees568 · 1.7%
First-time undergraduates, 2009–2024
Graduates, 2024
By field
- Science, engineering & technology2,128 · 31.7%
- Business & management2,311 · 34.5%
- Education577 · 8.6%
- Other humanities & social sciences1,692 · 25.2%
Graduation rate by level
- Undergraduate certificates & diplomas18.3%
- Undergraduate degrees14.9%
- Postgraduate, below master's62.4%
- Master's degrees23.4%
- Doctoral degrees11.6%
A graduation rate here is the year's graduates as a percentage of everyone enrolled at that level — the Department's proxy for throughput, not the share of an intake that finishes. For a three-year degree in which every student graduates on time it would be about 33%, so 15–20% is typical, not a failure rate.
State funding
| 2019/20 | R1.38 billion |
| 2020/21 | R1.36 billion |
| 2021/22 | R1.63 billion |
| 2022/23 | R1.60 billion |
| 2023/24 | R1.58 billion |
| 2024/25 | R1.85 billion |
Total amount the Department allocated to the university each financial year. It is not what students pay.
Fees and entry requirements
South Africa has no national register of fees or admission point scores (APS): each university sets and publishes its own. International-student numbers per university are not in the Department's report either. For both, go to NMU's own site.
Also in Eastern Cape: University of Fort Hare, Rhodes University, Walter Sisulu University
University type (traditional, comprehensive, university of technology) follows the Council on Higher Education's VitalStats 2022, Appendix 1. The Department counts the same 26 universities as 11 / 9 / 6; the Council lists them 13 / 7 / 6.
Source: Department of Higher Education and Training, Statistics on Post-School Education and Training in South Africa: 2024 (released May 2026). University type from the Council on Higher Education, VitalStats Public Higher Education 2022. City and province added by CollegeMatcher.