Rankings hint at a university sector that is struggling

A total of 135 universities in 19 African countries were ranked in the 21st edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (WUR) released on 9 October.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa remained the highest-ranked university in Africa – as it had been for some time – but it was placed in 180th position compared to 167th position last year. It was the only African university in the top 200.

However, African countries with the highest number of ranked universities were Egypt (35), Algeria (26), Nigeria (21), South Africa (14), Morocco (12), Tunisia (8) and Ghana (4). These seven countries accounted for about 90% of the ranked African universities.

Other African countries featuring in the rankings were Botswana (2), Kenya (2) and Tanzania (2). Several countries each had one university on the list: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Although Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria had more ranked universities than South Africa, the country had eight of the top 10 universities in the African order of merit.

A decrease in highly ranked universities in Africa

However, the number of African universities in the top rankings decreased. For instance, only 73 African universities were among the top 1,500 universities worldwide, compared to 75 last year. Individual institutions also dropped positions.

Five universities in Africa, representing 3.7% of the African cohort, were in the top 500. Four were from South Africa: UCT, Stellenbosch University, and the University of the Witwatersrand, or Wits, in the 301-350 band and the University of Johannesburg in the 401-500 band.

The South African group was joined in the top 500 by a newcomer, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University of Morocco, which was also placed in the joint band of 401-500, making it the best-ranked university in North Africa.

Although Egypt had the highest number of ranked universities in Africa, its best-performing university was the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), which was ranked in the 501-600 group.

Its current performance improved on last year’s placement, when it was in the 601-800 band.

Sub-Saharan African institutions participate more

According to Phil Baty, the chief global affairs officer at the Times Higher Education, Africa had a record year for participation in the WUR, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of ranked universities rose from 42 to 54, an increase of 26%.

Nevertheless, there were indicators that many African universities experienced significant downward changes in the rankings. For instance, in South Africa, seven universities slipped down the table, while five held their positions. Two others were in the 1,500+ band. 

“None of the South African universities improved,” stated Baty in a briefing.

Similarly, none of the ranked universities in other countries in the Sub-Saharan region appeared to have improved on last year’s performance. They either dropped marginally or retained their former positions.

However, four Egyptian universities were exceptions as they improved upon their performance from the previous years.

E-JUST improved its performance to the 501-600 group from the 601-800 band, while the American University in Cairo, Kafrelsheikh University, and Mansoura University improved and were placed in the 601-800 joint category. In the previous year they were in the 801-1,000 group.

New entrants

Despite many African universities experiencing a challenging year, some newcomers indicated the resilience of the African higher education system. In addition to Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, the top-ranked university in North Africa, another new entrant, Future University in Egypt (601-800), shared third place in Egypt with several other regularly ranked universities.

Other new entrants from Egypt included New Valley University (1,001-1,200), the University of Sadat City, as well as
Menoufia University (both in the 1,250-1,500 band), and Damanhour University, (1201-1500).

South Africa had two newcomers: Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, placed in band 1,201-1,500, and the University of Fort Hare, placed in band 1,501+.

But the largest number of new entries in Sub-Saharan Africa were from Nigeria. They included Ahmadu Bello University and Landmark University in the 1,001-1,200 band and the Federal University of Technology, Minna, in the 1,201-1,500+ band.

Others were Ekiti State University, the Federal University of Technology Owerri, the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto in the 1,500+ band.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, new country entrants to the WUR, were represented by their national universities, the University of Kinshasa (1,500+) and the University of Rwanda (1,500+), respectively. Kenyatta University in Kenya was also a newcomer and was placed in the same category.

Weaker performances

Although Africa posted a higher number of participating universities this year, the results revealed that institutions on the continent are struggling much more than their counterparts in other global regions.

According to the WUR briefing, declining funding for African universities and the flight of academic talent from the continent could be the primary contributing factors to weak performance.

Some African universities whose ranking dropped significantly were Uganda’s Makerere University, which slipped from 801-1,000 placement to 1,201-1,500, and Tanzania’s Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, which dropped to 1,501+ from 1,001-1,200 the previous year.

Well-known national public institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa also dropped from the 1,201-1,500 joint band to the lowly 1,501+ positions. These universities included the University of Nairobi, the University of Namibia, the University of Venda in South Africa, the University of Zambia, and the University of Zimbabwe.

In total, 62 African universities, representing about 46% of the African universities, were placed in the 1,500+ category, which was the lowest ranking.

South Africa

Citing the South African situation, Baty and his team noted that the research quality pillar of universities is very positive, and the country’s universities excel in this area.

They said that, compared to many other global institutions, South Africa scores very well in terms of research excellence and research influence indicators, as well as research productivity, and income benchmarks.

However, they argued that, while South African university research is of high quality and can attract international staff, the country does not attract many international students.

They observed that the South African universities appear to be facing significant challenges in funding, effectively creating a scenario that has intensified competition and put pressure on the universities’ ranking positions.

Nigeria

Nigerian universities were battling the brain drain, with young staff and talented students in critical fields of medicine, engineering and financial technology leaving the country in large numbers.

“However, the fact that Nigeria has more universities in the ranking than any other country in Sub-Saharan Africa is a testament to their all standing up to be counted and benchmarking their achievements against the world’s best,” stated WUR’s briefing on the ranking status of universities in the region.

Of the 21 Nigerian universities ranked, Covenant University, in the joint band of 801-1,000, was ranked the highest and maintained its position from last year. Nigeria has the most extensive higher education system in Sub-Saharan Africa regarding the number of universities and student enrolment.

Amid efforts to give more universities in Sub-Saharan Africa a chance to compare themselves with their counterparts in other global regions, Baty urged more universities to submit data to WUR next year to show the rich diversity of higher education excellence.

On the global scene, the University of Oxford took the top spot for the ninth consecutive year. Among the top five universities globally were the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Cambridge in that order of merit.

This year, 2,860 universities from 133 countries and territories submitted data, an increase of 6% compared to 2,674 last year. However, WUR 2025 has 2,092 ranked universities, as 768 institutions gained ‘reporter’ status. According to Baty, that meant that although those institutions submitted data, they did not meet THE’s eligibility criteria to receive a ranking.

African countries that presented universities to WUR 2025 but were put in ‘reporter status’ included Angola, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Libya, Malawi, Somalia, and Sudan.

To assess the universities’ performance, data analysts used a methodology of 18 indicators, which are divided into five pillars covering the core academic missions of teaching, research environment and knowledge transfer, research quality, international outlook and industrial linkages.