Universities in sub-Saharan Africa have expanded their presence in the global university ranking, with 69 institutions from 16 countries included. This is according to data from the 2027 global ranking of the world’s best universities, Xinhua News Agency, a TV BRICS partner, reported.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) rose from 164th to 147th place. This is its highest position in seven years and its first return to the global top 150 since 2020.
South Africa remained the regional leader in the quality of higher education: 17 universities were included in the ranking, five of them in the global top 500 and eight in the top 1,000. Nigeria became the country in the region with the largest number of universities represented, with 29 institutions, three of which entered the global top 1,000 (801–1,000 range). Ghana has two institutions in the same range.
Malawi entered the ranking for the first time: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences was placed in the 1,201–1,400 range. Ethiopia returned to the ranking with Mekelle University in the same range.
“Make no mistake: Africa is a growing force in the geopolitics of knowledge, and its universities are earning a growing presence on the world stage,” said Phil Baty, the ranking’s Chief Global Affairs Officer. Last year, the ranking included 55 universities from 14 sub-Saharan African countries.
Overall, more than 2,000 universities from 118 countries and territories were included in the ranking – 106 more than a year earlier. The ranking analysed almost 20 million research papers, took into account around one million votes in an academic reputation survey, and used data from more than 3,000 universities worldwide.