UoN and KU Among Best Universities in Africa in Lates Rankings (FULL LIST)
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The QS World University Rankings 2026 has ranked University of Nairobi UON as the top University in Kenya and 17th in Africa with an overall score of 62.9 while University of Cape Town of South Africa topping the list with 100 scores in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the rankings, five other study destinations are represented in the top 20, including Ghana and Nigeria.
The University of Ghana and the University of Ibadan are the highest-ranked universities in those two countries.
“The diverse range of high-performing universities helps demonstrate that strong performance is not confined to a single country in Sub-Saharan Africa and that different higher education systems and contexts can produce success and be an attractive study destination,” QS Ranking noted.
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Kenyatta University, which has an overall score of 41.9 and is ranked 25th in Africa, comes in second.
The university had a 64.7 academic reputation score, 10.9 papers per faculty, and 45.5 citations per paper.
Eldoret-based Moi University is ranked 32nd in Africa with an overall score of 29.1, while Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is ranked 33rd with a score of 28.9.
Despite having a lower academic reputation (26.7), JKUAT posted a noteworthy 59.7 citations per paper.
At a score of 21.7 and 56.4 citations per paper, Egerton University in Njoro is ranked 41st in Africa. However, each faculty only has 5 papers, indicating a lower level of research output.
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Top 20 Best Universities in Sub-Sahara
| 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 |
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The image shows the entrance to Kenyatta University
Image/KU/File