The University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa, has topped Times Higher Education’s (THE) inaugural Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings.
The public institution, more commonly known as Wits University, celebrated its centenary last year and has Nelson Mandela amongst its alumni and now becomes the first university to top THE’s innovative new ranking.
The second highest ranked university is University of Johannesburg in South Africa and in third place is Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, in Tanzania.
Four of the top 10 universities are from South Africa and two are from Tanzania.
The pioneering new ranking highlights the strongest universities in Sub-Saharan Africa across a comprehensive range of performance indicators covering five pillars: ‘access and fairness’, ‘Africa impact’, ‘teaching skills’, ‘student engagement’ and ‘resources and finance’.
Top 10 Sub-Saharan Africa universities
University of the Witwatersrand |
South Africa |
1 |
University of Johannesburg |
South Africa |
2 |
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences |
Tanzania |
3 |
University of Pretoria |
South Africa |
4 |
Makerere University |
Uganda |
5 |
University of the Western Cape |
South Africa |
6 |
Covenant University |
Nigeria |
7 |
UGHE – University of Global Health Equity |
Rwanda |
8 |
Ashesi University |
Ghana |
9 |
Ardhi University |
Tanzania |
10 |
The Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings, produced in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, ranks 88 universities from 17 countries in the region.
Nigeria has the most universities in the ranking with 37, followed by South Africa with nine, Ghana and Kenya have seven each and Somalia and Uganda have five each.
Rich data
The ranking provides a rich source of data on the differences between public and private universities. Of the 88 ranked universities, 59 (67%) are public, 21 (24%) are private not-for-profit and eight are private for-profit (9%) and seven of the top 10 universities are public.
Public universities received an average overall score in the rankings of 50 and charged students a median of £966 per year. By comparison, private institutions scored an average of 43, with not-for-profits charging £1,922 and for-profits charging £3,291 annually.
Public providers scored higher, on average, across four of the five pillars: access and fairness; Africa impact, resources and finance and student engagement. Private universities generally perform better on teaching and employability skills.
Public universities tend to have considerably more students than private ones averaging more than 18,000 students compared with an average of about 3,500 for private universities and public universities are, on average, almost twice as old (28 years) as private universities (18 years).
A key component of the ranking is a unique student survey accounting for their experiences, which shows students in private universities are generally more satisfied with their experience compared with their public counterparts when judging the facilities, their Interaction with peers and the faculty, employability, course quality and teaching engagement.
Phil Baty, Times Higher Education’s chief global affairs officer, said: “This unique pioneering ranking, which was developed specifically for, and led-by, African education organisations, marks a really significant moment for higher education in the continent.
“It clearly demonstrates the broad and diverse strengths of a wide range of universities and numerous previously unknown differences between public and private universities, which is further illuminated by the results from the student survey.
“We hope this ranking will help African universities celebrate and showcase good practice, benchmark themselves against peers, and identify key areas where they can improve. Collectively, we hope it helps universities to collaborate to address the challenges the continent faces.
“We also hope the ranking will be a valuable tool for the millions of parents and prospective students who are increasingly looking for authoritative information about what a university education will give them.”
THE’s Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings 2023 were officially announced at the organisation’s first forum in the region, THE’s Sub-Saharan Africa Forum 2023, which took place in partnership with Ashesi University on Monday 26 June 2023.
Full Sub-Saharan Africa Rankings 2023 table
University |
Country |
Rank |
University of the Witwatersrand |
South Africa |
1 |
University of Johannesburg |
South Africa |
2 |
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences |
Tanzania |
3 |
University of Pretoria |
South Africa |
4 |
Makerere University |
Uganda |
5 |
University of the Western Cape |
South Africa |
6 |
Covenant University |
Nigeria |
7 |
UGHE – University of Global Health Equity |
Rwanda |
8 |
Ashesi University |
Ghana |
9 |
Ardhi University |
Tanzania |
10 |
University of Venda |
South Africa |
11 |
University of South Africa |
South Africa |
12 |
Durban University of Technology |
South Africa |
13 |
University of Zambia |
Zambia |
14 |
Academic City University College |
Ghana |
15 |
University of Embu |
Kenya |
16 |
University of Ghana |
Ghana |
17 |
University of Zimbabwe |
Zimbabwe |
18 |
University of Mauritius |
Mauritius |
19 |
Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) |
Botswana |
20 |
University of Botswana |
Botswana |
=21 |
University of Dar es Salaam |
Tanzania |
=21 |
University of Sierra Leone |
Sierra Leone |
23 |
National University of Science and Technology (NUST) |
Zimbabwe |
24 |
Rongo University |
Kenya |
25 |
Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta |
Nigeria |
26 |
Universidade Eduardo Mondlane |
Mozambique |
27 |
Accra Technical University |
Ghana |
28 |
Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) |
Malawi |
29 |
Benson Idahosa University |
Nigeria |
30 |
Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development |
Ghana |
=31 |
Nnamdi Azikiwe University |
Nigeria |
=31 |
Jimma University |
Ethiopia |
33 |
Metropolitan International University |
Uganda |
34 |
Redeemer’s University |
Nigeria |
35 |
University of Ibadan |
Nigeria |
36 |
Cross River University of Technology |
Nigeria |
37 |
Abrar University |
Somalia |
38 |
Kibabii University |
Kenya |
=39 |
Obafemi Awolowo University |
Nigeria |
=39 |
Central University of Technology, Free State |
South Africa |
41 |
Kabarak University |
Kenya |
42 |
Umaru Musa Yar’adua University |
Nigeria |
43 |
University for Development Studies |
Ghana |
44 |
Adeleke University |
Nigeria |
45 |
Ahmadu Bello University |
Nigeria |
46 |
University of Benin |
Nigeria |
47 |
Kabale University |
Uganda |
48 |
Landmark University |
Nigeria |
49 |
Babcock University |
Nigeria |
50 |
Ajayi Crowther University |
Nigeria |
51-60 |
Bells University of Technology |
Nigeria |
51-60 |
Chinhoyi University of Technology |
Zimbabwe |
51-60 |
Federal University of Kashere |
Nigeria |
51-60 |
Federal University Lokoja |
Nigeria |
51-60 |
Gombe State University |
Nigeria |
51-60 |
ISBAT University |
Uganda |
51-60 |
University of Kabianga |
Kenya |
51-60 |
Lagos State University |
Nigeria |
51-60 |
University of Port Harcourt |
Nigeria |
51-60 |
Baze University |
Nigeria |
61-70 |
Cavendish University |
Uganda |
61-70 |
City University of Mogadishu |
Somalia |
61-70 |
Delta State University, Abraka |
Nigeria |
61-70 |
Elizade University |
Nigeria |
61-70 |
Maasai Mara University |
Kenya |
61-70 |
Niger Delta University |
Nigeria |
61-70 |
SIMAD University |
Somalia |
61-70 |
Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University |
South Africa |
61-70 |
University of Technology, Mauritius |
Mauritius |
61-70 |
Abia State University |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Adventist University of Central Africa |
Rwanda |
71+ |
Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ikiti |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Bauchi State University, Gadau |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Bayero University |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Edo State University Uzairue |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Jamhuriya University of Science and Technology (JUST) |
Somalia |
71+ |
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Lead City University |
Nigeria |
71+ |
National Open University of Nigeria |
Nigeria |
71+ |
National University, Sudan |
Sudan |
71+ |
Presbyterian University, Ghana |
Ghana |
71+ |
Red Sea University |
Somalia |
71+ |
Riara University |
Kenya |
71+ |
Samuel Adegboyega University |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Veritas University, Abuja |
Nigeria |
71+ |
Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano |
Nigeria |
71+ |