Latest University Rankings 2025: Nigerian Varsities, Others Set New Pace, Miss Top 1,000 Global Rankings
The latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for 2025 have been released, showcasing over 1,500 universities across 105 higher education systems.
QS is a leading higher education analytics firm known for its annual world university rankings, which evaluate institutions based on academic excellence, reputation, and global diversity.
The United States leads the rankings with 197 institutions featured, followed by the United Kingdom with 90 and mainland China with 71.
For the 13th consecutive year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) holds the top spot. Imperial College London has climbed four places to secure the second position, while the University of Oxford and Harvard University are in third and fourth place, respectively. The University of Cambridge completes the top five.
Meanwhile, Nigeria is represented by two universities in the rankings, with the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos both placing between 1100-1200.
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
- 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, Cairo, Egypt (ranked #592)
- Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ranked #771-780)
In 2023, the University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, University of Lagos, and Ahmadu Bello University were recognized as among the best universities globally by the Centre for World University Rankings. The University of Ibadan emerged as the top-ranked university in Nigeria, placing 1,163rd globally. This was followed by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), placed 1,784th worldwide and second in Nigeria. Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) was ranked fourth nationally and 1,881st globally, whereas the University of Lagos (UNILAG) was ranked third in Nigeria and 1,875th worldwide.
In April 2024, Covenant University was ranked as the best university in Nigeria for the second time, according to Times Higher Education’s 2024 rating, which includes 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions. The University of Ibadan and the Federal University of Technology, Akure, followed closely as the second and third-best universities in Nigeria, respectively.
While other universities in Nigeria miss out on the ranking of the top two thousand global universities in 2025.