The inaugural QS World University Rankings for Sub-Saharan Africa were released on February 12th, 2026. The rankings evaluated 260 institutions across the region and included 69 universities. The University of Cape Town in South Africa emerged as the top university, securing the number one spot with a perfect score of 100. Additionally, it made history by ranking within the top 10% of universities globally for the first time.
Other notable institutions include the University of Johannesburg (South Africa) in second place and the University of Ghana, which ranked eighth outside South Africa. Nigeria’s University of Ibadan was placed 11th, while Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa University ranked 13th.
THE TOP 20
| Rank | University | Country |
| 1 | University of Cape Town | South Africa |
| 2 | University of Johannesburg | South Africa |
| 3 | University of Witwatersrand | South Africa |
| 4 | Stellenbosch University | South Africa |
| 5 | University of Pretoria | South Africa |
| 6 | University of Kwazulu-Natal | South Africa |
| 7 | North-West University | South Africa |
| 8 | University of Ghana | Ghana |
| 9 | University of the Free State | South Africa |
| 10 | University of the Western Cape | South Africa |
| 11 | University of Ibadan | Nigeria |
| 12 | Rhodes University | South Africa |
| 13 | Addis Ababa University | Ethiopia |
| 14 | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology | Ghana |
| 15 | University of Lagos | Nigeria |
| 16 | Makerere University | Uganda |
| 17 | University of Nairobi | Kenya |
| 18 | Nelson Mandela University | South Africa |
| 19 | University of Nigeria Nsukka | Nigeria |
| 20 | Covenant University, Nigeria | Nigeria |
