Nigeria missing out of top 10 Universities in Africa

The list of the top 10 universities in Africa for 2024 as ranked by EduRank, a top source for social media analytics in the education sector, has been released and no Nigerian university is in the top 10.

The organisation stated on its website that the ranking was based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence.

It added that it arrived at the ranking after analysing 24.5 million citations received by 2.16 million academic publications made by 1,104 universities from Africa.

EduRank conducts a series of statistical analyses to generate comparative university rankings in various fields, by country, region, and globally. 

In the ratings for 2024, no Nigerian university made it to the top 10. The top-ranked Nigerian institution is the University of Ibadan (UI), which is ranked No.13 in Africa and No.1057 in the world.

Seven out of the top 10 universities in Africa are located in South Africa, one is located in Egypt, one in Uganda, and one in Kenya.

Below are the top 10 Universities in Africa.

1. University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town (UCT) was founded in 1829 as the South African College, a high school for boys. 

2. University of the Witwatersrand 

The University of Witwatersrand is situated in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its history is linked to mining, political and civic activism, and the development of Johannesburg. 

3. University of Stellenbosch 

Stellenbosch University (SU) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the earliest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa, together with the UCT – which received full university status on the same day in 1918. 

4. University of Pretoria 

The University of Pretoria (UP) is one of Africa’s top universities and reportedly the largest contact university in South Africa. The university said it produces socially-impactful researches to find solutions for the world’s most pressing issues. 

5. Cairo University 

Cairo University is usually ranked among the best universities in Egypt, and one of the best in Africa. The institution has a reputation for excellence in medical education and research. 

6. University of KwaZulu-Natal 

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa, offers nearly 2,000 academic programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. UKZN is reportedly the third most productive university in South Africa in terms of research output. 

7. Makerere University 

Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, which began as a technical school in 1922, was the first major institution of higher learning in East and Central Africa. 

8. University of Nairobi 

The University of Nairobi, Kenya, is a collegiate research institution. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970. 

9. University of Johannesburg 

The institution is said to be one of the largest comprehensive contact universities in South Africa. University of Johannesburg (UJ) has a student population of over 50,000, of which more than 3000 are international students from 80 countries. 

10. University of South Africa

The University of South Africa (Unisa) is an open-learning institution. Per a piece of information on its website, the school is a dedicated distance education university in the world. 

See the full list of 100 best universities in Africa here.