The University of Ibadan (UI) has reclaimed its position as Nigeria’s best university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, moving up from fourth place in 2025.
UI ranks 801–1000 globally, ahead of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University Kano (BUK), and Covenant University (CU), which came second, third, and fourth nationally. The ranking assessed 2,191 universities across 115 countries based on 18 performance indicators in teaching, research, industry, and international outlook.
Among 51 Nigerian universities featured:
UI and UNILAG: 801–1000
BUK, CU, Landmark: 1001–1200
ABU, FUT Minna, Unilorin, Unijos, UNN: 1201–1500
14 others: 1501+
27 universities: listed but not ranked
Notable strengths:
UNILAG – top in research quality (score: 66.7)
BUK – best in international outlook
CU – highest industry connection score
The ranking analysed 174.9 million citations from 18.7 million publications and responses from 108,000 scholars worldwide.
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