South Africa University, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has claimed the top spot in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings.
UJ’s achievement highlights South Africa’s dominance, with the University of Pretoria and the University of the Witwatersrand following in second and third places, respectively.
This year’s rankings, supported by Mastercard Foundation, focused on five performance pillars: resources and finance, access and fairness, student engagement, ethical leadership, and Africa impact, with added emphasis on leadership and African heritage.
The rankings, now in their second year, have expanded to include 129 universities from 22 countries, with new entries from Namibia, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, and Eswatini.
Nigeria stood out with 41 universities listed, more than double any other nation, marking a significant rise from 37 last year. Nigeria’s highest-ranked institution, American University of Nigeria, secured 12th place, reflecting strong performances in ethical leadership and student engagement. Kenya followed with 15 ranked institutions, while Ghana had 11 universities featured.
Other highlights include Somalia’s SIMAD University debuting at 7th place and Rwanda’s University of Global Health Equity entering the top five.
This year underscores a shift toward Africa-led measures of excellence tailored to regional challenges. See the full list here.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.