Nigerian Universities Shine in Global Rankings as UI Leads Locally
The University of Ibadan has emerged as the highest-ranked Nigerian university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, released yesterday.
It is followed by the University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano, Covenant University, and Landmark University, with Ahmadu Bello University, Federal University of Technology, Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, rounding out the top ten.
The rankings, which feature 2,191 universities from 115 countries and territories, assess institutions based on research, teaching, citations, international outlook and industry income. Nigeria now boasts an increasing presence in global higher education, reflecting improvements in teaching and research capacity across its universities.
Globally, Oxford University retained the number one spot for the tenth consecutive year, driven by a strong research environment score. Princeton University rose to joint third place, marking its best-ever finish and was the only U.S. institution to achieve this milestone.
China now has five universities in the top 40, up from three last year, while Hong Kong secured a record six spots in the top 200, thanks to improvements in teaching metrics.
India also rose in prominence, now holding the second highest number of ranked universities after the United States.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are widely recognised by students, academics, governments, and industry experts as a trusted benchmark for assessing university performance worldwide.
