QS 2026 Rankings – Egypt, South Africa Lead, Nigeria Struggles

By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu

In the 2026 QS World University Rankings, no Nigerian university made it into the top 1,000 for the third year in a row. The list, released on June 19, 2025, included only three Nigerian institutions: University of Ibadan (UI), University of Lagos (UNILAG), and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. UI and UNILAG were ranked in the 1,001–1,200 range, while ABU appeared for the first time in the 1,201–1,400 range.

Despite their long-standing reputations, Nigerian universities continue to lag in critical areas like research, international collaboration, and employability, which are key factors for global rankings.

In Africa, Egypt had 20 universities on the list, followed by South Africa with 11 and Tunisia with 4. The only African universities to enter the top 300 were South Africa’s University of Cape Town (150th) and University of the Witwatersrand (291st).

QS World University Rankings 2026: Top 10 Institutions

1. MIT – USA
2. Imperial College London – UK
3. Stanford University – USA
4. University of Oxford – UK
5. Harvard University – USA
6. University of Cambridge – UK
7. ETH Zurich – Switzerland
8. National University of Singapore – Singapore
9. UCL – UK
10. Caltech – USA

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Chioma Ndukwu

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