Universities in sub-Saharan Africa expanded their presence in the latest global university rankings, with 69 institutions included, and South Africa’s University of Cape Town (UCT) returning to the top 150 at joint 147th.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 were released on Wednesday during the World Academic Summit, held in Cape Town through Thursday and jointly hosted by the UCT and Britain’s University of Bristol.
A total of 69 universities from 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa feature in the rankings, up from 55 universities from 14 countries last year.
South Africa remained the region’s higher education leader, with 17 universities included in the rankings, while Nigeria was the region’s most represented country, with 29 universities.
South Africa also had five universities in the global top 500 and eight in the top 1,000. UCT climbed from joint 164th last year to joint 147th, its best position in seven years and its first return to the global top 150 since the 2020 edition.
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Nigeria had three universities in the global top 1,000, all in the 801-1,000 band, while Ghana had two institutions in the same band. Malawi entered the rankings for the first time, with Kamuzu University of Health Sciences placed in the 1,201-1,400 band, while Ethiopia returned to the rankings with Mekelle University in the same band.
Times Higher Education Chief Global Affairs Officer Phil Baty said the results reflected a growing presence of African universities internationally.
“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,” he said.
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The 2027 rankings cover 2,297 universities from 118 countries and territories, an increase of 106 institutions from last year.
They are based on an analysis of almost 20 million research papers, nearly one million votes from an Academic Reputation Survey, and institutional data from over 3,000 universities worldwide. The University of Oxford retained the top position for an 11th consecutive year.
- The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 included 69 sub-Saharan African universities from 16 countries, up from 55 universities from 14 countries last year.
- South Africa had 17 universities in the rankings, five in the global top 500, and eight in the top 1,000, with the University of Cape Town (UCT) ranked joint 147th.
- Nigeria was the most represented country in the region with 29 universities, and three Nigerian universities were in the global top 1,000 within the 801-1,000 band.
- Malawi entered the rankings for the first time with Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, placed in the 1,201-1,400 band, while Ethiopia returned with Mekelle University in the same band.
- The 2027 global rankings covered 2,297 universities from 118 countries, based on research papers, an Academic Reputation Survey, and institutional data, with the University of Oxford retaining the top position for the 11th consecutive year.
