The most recent Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings 2025 have been issued, comprising over 1,500 universities from 105 higher education systems.
QS is a major higher education analytics organisation that produces annual world university rankings based on academic excellence, reputation, and global diversity.
The United States leads the rankings with 197 institutions, followed by the United Kingdom (90) and mainland China (71).
For the 13th consecutive year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has topped the list.
Imperial College London has climbed four spots to second place, while the University of Oxford and Harvard University are third and fourth, respectively with the University of Cambridge placing fifth on the list.
Top 10 Universities in QS World University Rankings 2025:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, United States
- Imperial College London, United Kingdom
- University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
- University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Stanford University, Stanford, United States
- ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore, Singapore
- UCL London, United Kingdom
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, United States
African Universities in QS World University Rankings 2025:
- University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa (ranked #171)
- University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (ranked #267)
- Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa (ranked #296)
- University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa (ranked #312)
- Cairo University, Giza, Egypt (ranked #350)
- University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa (ranked #354)
- The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt (ranked #410)
- University of Kwazulu-Natal, Pinetown, South Africa (ranked #587)
- Ain Shams University in Cairo (ASU, Cairo) Cairo, Egypt (ranked #592)
- Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ranked #771–780)
The Centre for World University Rankings named the University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, University of Lagos, and Ahmadu Bello University among the best universities in the world in 2023.
The University of Ibadan was the top-ranked university in Nigeria, ranking 1,163rd globally.
UNN was ranked 1,784th on the global ranking and second in Nigeria. ABU was ranked fourth nationally and 1,881st globally, while UNILAG was placed third in Nigeria and 1,875th overall.
Covenant University was named Nigeria’s best university for the second time in April 2024, according to Times Higher Education’s 2024 ranking, which included 1,904 universities from 108 countries and regions. The University of Ibadan and the Federal University of Technology, Akure, followed closely as second and third-best universities in Nigeria, respectively.