New ranking celebrates breadth and diversity of African higher education ecosystem
Global higher education experts QS Quacquarelli Symonds has launched QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa?*, analysing of the strengths of Sub-Saharan higher education ecosystem. *The links will be updated with the latest results when the embargo lifts.
Nearly 70 universities from 21 countries are featured in this inaugural edition, signalling growing momentum across Africa’s higher education landscape. Home to a rapidly expanding youth population, the region has a deep and diverse talent pool supported by a wide range of higher education systems and institutional contexts. The ranking assesses the capacity and accessibility of these systems, highlighting how effectively institutions are positioned to nurture the skills and knowledge essential for Africa’s future growth.
Emphasis is placed on metrics relevant to the region, including employer reputation, international research collaboration, and sustainability indicators. While meaningful comparisons across such varied national and institutional contexts remain challenging, the ranking offers a valuable high-level perspective. It sheds light on how Sub-Saharan African universities are viewed by employers and the global research community, alongside insights into research output, student learning experience, and global engagement.
The ranking will be expanded and refined through an annual iterative process and continued stakeholder engagement.
QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said: “The inaugural QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa opens a richer, more contextual conversation about performance, progress and opportunity across African higher education. It has been designed as a tool for growth, global recognition and institutional learning.
“Sub-Saharan Africa is home to diverse higher education ecosystems and unique contexts, where universities fuel economic growth, create vital talent pipelines and develop leading research. This ranking seeks to support these ambitions.”
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Table 1: Top 20 |
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2026 Rank |
Institution |
Higher education system |
|
1 |
University of Cape Town |
South Africa |
|
2 |
University of Johannesburg |
South Africa |
|
3 |
University of Witwatersrand |
South Africa |
|
4 |
Stellenbosch University |
South Africa |
|
5 |
University of Pretoria |
South Africa |
|
6 |
University of Kwazulu-Natal |
South Africa |
|
7 |
North-West University |
South Africa |
|
8 |
University of Ghana |
Ghana |
|
9 |
University of the Free State |
South Africa |
|
10 |
University of the Western Cape |
South Africa |
|
11 |
University of Ibadan |
Nigeria |
|
12 |
Rhodes University |
South Africa |
|
13 |
Addis Ababa University |
Ethiopia |
|
14 |
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology |
Ghana |
|
15 |
University of Lagos |
Nigeria |
|
16 |
Makerere University |
Uganda |
|
17 |
University of Nairobi |
Kenya |
|
18 |
Nelson Mandela University |
South Africa |
|
19 |
University of Nigeria Nsukka |
Nigeria |
|
20 |
Covenant University, Nigeria |
Nigeria |
Overview
The QS Sub-Saharan Africa Rankings are determined by an institution’s scores across eight key indicators which have been tailored to reflect the nuances of the region. The below table shows the top performing university in in each of QS’ indicators. Full information about the methodology is available here.
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Leaders by indicator |
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Performance Lens |
Indicator |
Weight |
Regional Leader |
Country |
Overall Rank |
|
Research and Discovery |
Academic Reputation |
20% |
University of Cape Town |
South Africa |
1 |
|
Citations per Paper |
10% |
Copperbelt University |
Zambia |
39 |
|
|
Papers per Faculty |
10% |
Stellenbosch University |
South Africa |
4 |
|
|
Employability |
Employer Reputation |
20% |
University of Cape Town |
South Africa |
1 |
|
Learning Experience |
Faculty Student Ratio |
5% |
University of Namibia |
Namibia |
31 |
|
Global Engagement |
International Research Network |
15% |
University of Johannesburg |
South Africa |
2 |
|
Web Impact |
5% |
University of Cape Town |
South Africa |
1 |
|
|
Sustainability |
Sustainability |
15% |
University of Cape Town |
South Africa |
1 |
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Sub-Saharan Africa – Top countries by total ranked universities |
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Higher education system |
# of entries |
Domestic Leader |
Overall Rank |
|
South Africa |
14 |
University of Cape Town |
1 |
|
Nigeria |
11 |
University of Ibadan |
11 |
|
Ethiopia |
8 |
Addis Ababa University |
13 |
|
Ghana |
7 |
University of Ghana |
8 |
|
Kenya |
6 |
University of Nairobi |
17 |
|
Cameroon |
3 |
University of Dschang |
40 |
|
Tanzania |
3 |
University of Dar es Salaam |
21 |
|
Zimbabwe |
3 |
University of Zimbabwe |
23 |
|
Namibia |
2 |
University of Namibia (UNAM) |
31 |
|
Burkina Faso |
1 |
University of Ouagadougou |
51+ |
|
Congo |
1 |
Universite Marien Ngouabi |
51+ |
|
Democratic Republic of Congo |
1 |
Universite de Kinshasa |
50 |
|
Djibouti |
1 |
University of Djibouti |
51+ |
|
Gambia |
1 |
University of The Gambia |
51+ |
|
Malawi |
1 |
Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
51+ |
|
Mauritania |
1 |
Université de Nouakchott |
51+ |
|
Rwanda |
1 |
University of Rwanda |
37 |
|
Senegal |
1 |
Cheikh Anta Diop University |
30 |
|
Togo |
1 |
University of Lome |
51+ |
|
Uganda |
1 |
Makerere University |
16 |
|
Zambia |
1 |
Copperbelt University |
39 |
The African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want is seeking an education and skills revolution to build knowledge, human capital, capabilities and skills to drive innovations and for the African century. Among the aims is to build the African knowledge society through transformation and investments in universities, science, technology, research and innovation and elevate Africa’s role in global research, technology development and transfer, innovation and knowledge production.
Background to QS African University Rankings
In recent iterations of the QS World University Rankings, many African universities have improved their overall percentile performances. In 2026, for example, the University of Cape Town ranked in the top 10% of universities in the ranking for the first time, climbing up from featuring among the top 19% in 2021. University of Kwazulu-Natal is among the top 34% of global universities in 2026, compared with 41.5% in 2024, University of Ghana has risen into the top 54.1% from 65.2% in 2024 and University of Nairobi is among the global top 63%, up from 68.8% in 2024. The graph below shows the percentile performance of top-performing Sub-Saharan African universities in the past five years.
However, this percentile increase in the QS World University Rankings does not tell the full picture of Africa’s developing higher education ecosystem.

Sowter said: “In the most recent QS World University Rankings, more than 20 institutions from Sub-Saharan Africa were ranked. This new ranking is designed to celebrate the diversity of Africa’s diverse higher education ecosystem and help institutions to further succeed and achieve their strategic aims.”
The full QS World University Rankings 2026: Africa will be published when the embargo lifts and will be available at https://www.topuniversities.com/africa-university-rankings