Nigerian varsities miss global top 1,000 again as Egypt, South Africa surge ahead.
UI, UNILAG, ABU rank low while global leaders excel in research and job readiness.
For the third year running, Nigerian universities have failed to break into the top 1,000 of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. The latest edition, released on June 19, 2025, once again did not feature any of Nigeria’s 297 universities in the upper tier of global academic institutions.
Only three Nigerian universities were included in the rankings at all: the University of Ibadan (UI), the University of Lagos (UNILAG), and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. UI and UNILAG maintained their previous positions in the 1,001–1,200 category, while ABU made its debut appearance in the lower 1,201–1,400 band.
The QS World University Rankings, compiled annually by the British higher education analysis firm Quacquarelli Symonds, evaluate universities based on eight key metrics. These include academic and employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, research citations per faculty, ratios of international students and staff, global research collaboration networks, graduate employment outcomes, and sustainability practices.
Despite the strong domestic profiles and historical prestige of some Nigerian universities, the country’s institutions continue to lag in global academic performance indicators. Challenges such as limited research output, weak international collaboration, and poor employability metrics have consistently hindered their ability to rise in the global rankings.
In contrast, several other African countries made notable progress. Egypt led the continent with 20 institutions on the 2026 list, followed by South Africa with 11 and Tunisia with four. Ghana and Morocco each had two universities ranked, while Kenya, Libya, Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia had one institution each represented.
South Africa remains the only African country with universities ranked within the global top 300. The University of Cape Town came in at 150th, while the University of the Witwatersrand placed 291st—both noted for strong academic output and international appeal.
QS World University Rankings 2026: Global Top 10
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – United States
- Imperial College London – United Kingdom
- Stanford University – United States
- University of Oxford – United Kingdom
- Harvard University – United States
- University of Cambridge – United Kingdom
- ETH Zurich – Switzerland
- National University of Singapore – Singapore
- University College London – United Kingdom
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech) – United States
These top-performing universities are distinguished not only by their research excellence and faculty credentials but also by their extensive global partnerships and strong graduate employability statistics.
