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QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa 2026 results
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12 February 2026
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QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa 2026 results
The inaugural QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa is now live.
This Ranking maps crucial areas of institutional performance across the continent. In this first edition, 69 institutions have been ranked, and 21 nations are represented. The QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa shine a light on the continent’s leading universities while opening a richer, more contextual conversation about performance, progress and opportunity across African higher education.
Explore the rankings in full here.
The key results
The top seven institutions are based in South Africa, with consistently strong performance across Academic and Employer Reputation. Outside of South Africa, the University of Ghana achieved eighth place, Nigeria’s University of Ibadan is 11th, and Addis Ababa University placed 13th. Institutions from Uganda and Kenya also feature among the top 20.
The top 20
The presence of institutions from six locations in the top 20 reinforces that strong performance is achievable across different higher education systems and contexts. Excellence is not confined to a single national model.
QS World University Rankings: Sub-Saharan Africa 2026: The headlines
With institutions from 21 locations featured in the inaugural Ranking, there are varied pathways to strength across the continent.
Emerging momentum is visible: Results from locations such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda point to areas of growing strength and targeted excellence within those education systems.
Different strengths drive different outcomes: As we explore below, lens-based results show that institutional performance manifests in different ways, reinforcing that success is not tied to one national or institutional model.
This edition establishes a baseline: The results provide a starting point for understanding relative performance today and for tracking change and development over time.
Methodology differences
To ensure the Ranking is relevant to institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, we have amended our methodology from the World University Rankings.
Additional indicators:
- Citations per Paper
- Papers per Faculty
- Staff with PhD
- Web Impact
Indicators given additional weight:
- Employer Reputation
- International Research Network
- Sustainability
Indicators given lower weight:
- Academic reputation
- Student Faculty Ratio
Lens-based insight
Looking beyond overall rank, the lens-based results reveal different institutional and national strengths. We can see where strengths are emerging, and why.
Sustainability
Sustainability leadership is emerging, but progress is uneven. Variation in sustainability scores points to pockets of strong performance alongside institutions still building foundational capabilities. This emphasises opportunities for capacity-building and data development, and the importance of regional collaboration and shared learning.
Research and discovery
Nigeria and South Africa perform strongly across key research lenses, including Academic Reputation, Citations per Paper and Papers per Faculty, reflecting established research influence and productivity. Ghana and Kenya also deliver competitive results within the research and discover lens, with institutions demonstrating strong citation impact and solid research output. These patterns indicate that meaningful research strengths are present across several systems, though expressed differently from country to country.
What’s next?
This launch is a starting point, opening the door to deeper engagement, broader data coverage, and more nuanced insight in future editions. As participation grows, the rankings will offer an increasingly rich picture of the continent’s higher education landscape, supporting transparency, collaboration and long-term sector development.
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