Webometrics Ranking: Top 10 Universities in Africa Named as Nigerian Varsities Miss Out
- Webometrics released its latest continental rankings covering over 2,014 universities across 59 African countries
- South Africa dominated the top 10 list, with multiple institutions appearing among Africa's highest-ranked universities
- Nigeria's absence from the top 10 raised fresh questions about the country's higher education competitiveness on the continent
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No Nigerian university appears in the latest Webometrics ranking of the top 10 universities in Africa, a list dominated by South African and Egyptian institutions.
The rankings, published by Webometrics, cover more than 2,014 institutions across 59 countries on the continent. The platform aggregates official data to measure university performance, tracking each institution's global and continental position over time.
Source: Getty Images
South Africa claimed the largest share of spots in the top 10, with institutions from Egypt, Ghana, and Uganda also making the cut.
No university from Nigeria, despite the country's large number of tertiary institutions, featured among the leading ten.
Webometrics Ranks Africa's Top 10 Universities
Below are the top 10 universities in Africa according to the Webometrics ranking, listed with their global positions:
1. University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa — Global Rank: #403
2. University of Pretoria, South Africa — Global Rank: #448
3. Cairo University, Egypt — Global Rank: #456
4. University of Johannesburg, South Africa — Global Rank: #491
5. University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa — Global Rank: #581
6. Alexandria University, Egypt — Global Rank: #592
7. University of South Africa, South Africa — Global Rank: #744
8. North West University, South Africa — Global Rank: #876
9. University of Ghana, Ghana — Global Rank: #949
10. Makerere University, Uganda — Global Rank: #1,006
The University of the Western Cape in South Africa ranked 11th on the continent with a global position of #1,044, while the University of the Free State came in at 12th with a global rank of #1,106.
Source: Getty Images
No Nigerian University Makes Continental Top Ten
South Africa's dominance across the top 10 is striking, with six of the ten spots going to South African universities. Egypt contributed two institutions, while Ghana and Uganda each placed one university in the top 10.
Nigeria, which is home to dozens of federal and state universities, did not feature among Africa's leading institutions in this edition of the rankings.
The Webometrics ranking evaluates universities based on their online presence and research visibility, metrics that have increasingly become yardsticks for measuring institutional performance in the global academic community.
UI beats UNILAG to emerge best
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the University of Ibadan had reclaimed its position as Nigeria’s highest-ranked university in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, overtaking several long-standing competitors across the country.
Results released on Thursday, January 22, on the Times Higher Education website placed UI in the 801 to 1000 global band, making it the top-ranked Nigerian institution in the latest edition.
Source: Legit.ng
