Nigeria is the most represented country in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with 24 universities making the list.
This places it ahead of South Africa, which has 13 ranked institutions. The region as a whole has achieved a record, with 55 universities from 14 countries now featured.
While Nigeria leads in quantity, South Africa still dominates in performance. The University of Cape Town remains Africa’s highest-ranked institution at 164th globally. A key milestone for Nigeria is that the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos both entered the world’s top 1,000 for the first time.
The report describes this growth as a “moment of celebration” for African higher education, highlighting improvements in both quality and global visibility.
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