- Universities in S’ Africa, Egypt Make List
By Abiola Olawale
In a stark revelation, no Nigerian university has secured a spot in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings Top 1000 for the 2026 edition.
This makes it the third consecutive year of exclusion.
Released on June 19, 2025, the rankings evaluated over 8,400 institutions across 106 countries.
However, no Nigerian university broke into the top 1000 global universities in the world, according to the QS World University ranking.
The New Diplomat reports that the QS World University Rankings is a global benchmark that assesses universities based on eight critical indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty and student ratios, international research networks, employment outcomes, and sustainability.
Only three Nigerian institutions were ranked at all. The University of Ibadan (UI) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) both landed in the 1,001–1,200 band, a position unchanged from 2025.
Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, made its debut in the 1,201–1,400 range.
In Africa, Egypt boasted of 20 universities and South Africa 11 in the 2026 Top 1000 University list.
According to the report, Nigeria’s universities, despite producing thousands of graduates annually, continue to falter in key areas like research output, international collaboration, and graduate employability.
Ben Sowter, QS Senior Vice President, emphasized the need for African universities to keep pace with global advancements, noting that only three of 19 sub-Saharan African institutions improved their rankings in 2026.
