The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (WUR) 2025, released on October 9, showcased a mixed performance for African universities, with a record 135 institutions from 19 African countries making the list. Despite this milestone, several prominent universities saw a decline in their global standings.

South Africa’s University of Cape Town (UCT) retained its position as the continent’s highest-ranked institution but slipped globally from 167th to 180th. UCT remains the only African university in the global top 200. Five African universities ranked in the top 500, including Stellenbosch University and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), both placed in the 301-350 range, and the University of Johannesburg in the 401-500 band. Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University made an impressive debut in the top 500, achieving the highest rank for a North African institution.

Egypt led the continent with 35 universities ranked, followed by Algeria with 26, Nigeria with 21, and South Africa with 14. Despite their numbers, South Africa dominated the African top 10, with eight universities listed. Egypt’s Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) saw an upward movement into the 501-600 range, marking a significant improvement.

However, several universities in Sub-Saharan Africa experienced setbacks. Uganda’s Makerere University and Tanzania’s Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences dropped to lower bands. Many national universities, including Kenya’s University of Nairobi, fell into the 1,501+ category, the lowest band in the rankings.

Despite the rise in participation, African universities face challenges, including declining funding and brain drain. These factors have hindered their ability to compete with global institutions.

Globally, Oxford University held the top spot for the ninth consecutive year, followed by MIT, Harvard, and Cambridge.

The WUR assessed 2,860 universities across 133 countries, with 2,092 institutions receiving rankings based on 18 performance indicators in areas like research quality, teaching, and industry collaboration.

 

Article by Jed Mwangi

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https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/latest/world-ranking