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.”

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.

• Learning experience: University of Namibia (UNAM) ranks top in Faculty Student Ratio. Ethiopian universities make up four of the five other top positions in this indicator.
• Research and Discovery: Zambia’s Copperbelt University leads in Citations per Paper, followed by Mekelle University in Ethiopia. South Africa is home to three of the top five institutions in this indicator, while Ghana has three in the top 10. South African universities take up the top six places in Academic Reputation, with Ghana, Uganda and Kenya also in the top 10. South African institutions also make up nine of the top 10 in Papers per Faculty, with Covenant University in Nigeria taking the only other top 10 institution.
• Employability: South African universities hold the top five places in Employer Reputation, with University of Cape Town, University of Pretoria and University of Witwatersrand placing first, second and third. They are followed by Stellenbosch University and University of Johannesburg in fourth and fifth place, respectively. At sixth, University of Ibadan is one place ahead of University of Lagos in seventh. University of Ghana is top in Ghana at 10^th, Addis Ababa University is top in Ethiopia at 11^th, University of Zimbabwe is top among Zimbabwe’s three ranked institutions at 14^th and University of Nairobi leads in Kenya at 15^th.
• Global Engagement: In International Research Network, South African universities make up nine of the top 10, with University of Johannesburg positioned first. University of Ghana ranks 10^th in this indicator. South Africa also dominates in Web Impact, with University of Cape Town top. Kenya’s University of Nairobi is ranked sixth while University of Ghana comes 10^th, followed by Makerere University in 11^th and University of Ibadan in 12^th.

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

• Nigeria: Education is one of eight priority areas in the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, seeking to expand access, raise education standards and promote future-ready skills among Nigerians. More recently the country’s National University Advancement has also set out how the country’s higher education institutions can build financial resilience and long-term sustainability through industry partnerships, improved outcomes and strengthened global competitiveness. Of Nigeria’s 300+ universities, 11 feature in the inaugural QS Africa Rankings. Among these, 10 are positioned in the top 50 and four the top 20. Individual achievements include Ladoke Akintola University of Technology ranking seventh in Africa for Faculty Student Ratio and top ranked institutions, University of Ibadan and University of Lagos ranking sixth and seventh in Employer Reputation, respectively. This suggests that these universities are already successfully producing graduates with skills that are in demand among employers.
• Ethiopia: The Ethiopian Education Development Roadmap, launched in 2017, sought to reach a Gross Enrolment Rate in higher education of 22% by 2025, bring the country’s higher education system level with other lower middle-income countries by 2030 and improve research infrastructure. Among low-income countries, households account for 5% of total education spending in Ethiopia, Unesco data shows, and that Ethiopia is one of 10 countries with the highest share of government expenditure going to education. The inaugural rankings show that Ethiopia already leads in Faculty Student Ratio, with six institutions in the top 10 for this indicator and all eight ranked universities in the top 20. Mekelle University ranks second in Africa for Papers per Faculty, while Addis Ababa University is the only Ethiopian university to feature in the top 15, with strong scores in Academic and Employer Reputation, International Research Network, Sustainability and Papers per Faculty.
• Ghana: The 2022 budget sought to increase tertiary enrolment rates from just under 19% in 2021 to 25% by 2025. The 2026 Budget sought to expand access further, with the planned launch of the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences at Bunso, as well as two new technical universities in Jasikan and Techiman and public universities in Kintampo and Dambai. The country’s no academic fee policy, allocated GH¢499.8million and launched in July 2025, covered fees for more than 156,000 first-year students in public tertiary education in the 2025 academic year. The inaugural QS Africa Rankings features seven of the 250+ Ghanaian universities, with University of Ghana top ranked at eighth overall, thanks to strong results in Academic and Employer Reputation, Sustainability, International Research Network and Web Impact. Other notable achievements include University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) and Kumasi Technical University ranking sixth and eighth in Citations per Paper, respectively.
• Kenya: One of the eight members of the East African Community, Kenya committed to the Common Higher Education Area in 2017, with members more recently agreeing to create a roadmap towards mutual recognition of degrees and qualifications across the region. The Open University of Kenya, established in August 2023 with Kshs 170 million in government funding, is Kenya's first fully online specialised public university and seeks to expand access to affordable, flexible, self-paced, inclusive and high-quality higher education through digital and open learning innovation. University enrolments reached over 630,000 in 2024/25 with “fluctuations and shifts” in recent years which government put down to increased enrolment in private universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions. A part of the Kenya Vision 2030 focuses on strengthening human capital development for science, technology and engineering courses by training faculty at PhD and master's level, as well as improving the provision of engineering and science equipment to the institutions. More recently, the government has outlined a plan to transform universities and colleges into engines of economic growth by aligning training and research with labour market demands that align with the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which places skills development and innovation at the centre of job creation and economic progress. University of Nairobi is top ranked at 17^th and the only institution in Kenya to feature in the top 20. It is also the only institution to feature in the top 20 in the Employer Reputation indicator, which will be a key indicator to ensure the country moves towards ambitions as part of BETA. Machakos University’s score in Citations per Paper is the best in the country, where it ranks seventh in Africa.
• Cameroon: Home to three ranked universities, including University of Dschang which places at 40^th, Cameroon has more than 300 officially recognised universities. By 2030, the government is aiming for about 560,000 students to receive higher education, either from universities, professional schools or other institutes – equivalent to 1,700 students per 100,000 inhabitants in 2030, up from 1,529 in 2021. It is also seeking to raise the number of students in science and technology from 30% to 60% in 2030 and ensure that 80% of higher education graduates obtain employment. University of Dschang has the highest score for Faculty Student Ratio, ranking at 21^st in Africa. This suggests Cameroon is behind other countries in the region in terms of students having access to teachers and lecturers. Additionally, no Cameroonian university features in the top 40 for Employer Reputation, which suggests that universities need to work closer with industry to ensure graduates are ready for the world of work.
• Tanzania: Tanzania’s Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) 2025/26 – 2029/30 has set a number of goals for 2030, including around regional and international framework for collaboration, aligning curricula with labour market needs, diversifying funding sources, increasing academic staff numbers, and improving access and participation, especially among women. Of Tanzania’s three ranked universities, Sokoine University of Agriculture is the only one to feature in the top 15 in Faculty Student Ratio and University of Dar es Salaam is the only institution to feature in the top 20 for Sustainability. Both of these indicators relate directly to Tanzania’s education plan, namely increasing staff numbers and student gender ratio. In Employer Reputation, University of Dar es Salaam is ranked 18^th in Africa. This indicator will be important to focus on, as it directly measures satisfaction among employers and whether higher education is meeting their needs.
• Zimbabwe: The Vision 2030 set out that the government would invest in “sufficient state of the art medical and educational facilities” in collaboration with the private sector and that curricula should be aligned with industry requirements, with an added emphasis on STEM subjects. Upgrading of domestic tertiary education facilities will also overcome the need for a disproportionate share of student numbers seeking university education beyond the country’s borders, the plan added. The government’s 2020 Education 5.0 plan focuses on teaching, applied research, innovation, industrialisation and community service in a bid to equip graduates with skills to drive industrial growth, entrepreneurship and job creation. All three of Zimbabwe's three ranked universities feature in the top 50, with University of Zimbabwe taking the highest rank in 23^rd. Scores in Employer Reputation, Papers per Faculty and Sustainability helped it to achieve this position. The QS Africa Rankings measures keys points noted in the Education 5.0 plan, including research, employer satisfaction and sustainability that, among other things, measures community engagement and SDGs.

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