Nigeria tops Sub-Saharan Africa’s higher education rankings, with 24 universities included in the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The 2026 Times Higher Education Sub-Saharan Africa report, released on Thursday, shows that 55 universities from 14 African countries are now ranked globally, a big rise from just less than ten years ago. The report called this a major achievement, highlighting improvements in both quality and international recognition.

In Nigeria, the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos entered the world’s top 1,000 universities for the first time. Ghana’s University of Cape Coast and Uganda’s Makerere University also made the same list, showing progress in West and East Africa.

Other countries also elevated their presence; Ghana has four ranked universities, Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania have two each, and Senegal joins for the first time with Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar.

Africa’s ranked universities grew from 12 in 2017 to 55 in 2026, showing improved quality and a stronger role in driving innovation, says, Phil Baty of Times Higher Education.