The University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, has reclaimed its position as Nigeria’s top university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026.
According to the ranking released on Thursday via THE’s official website, UI was placed within the 801–1,000 band globally, surpassing other Nigerian universities to regain the leading spot it last held in 2023. The institution rose from fourth place in 2025, overtaking Covenant University, which had maintained the top position in both 2024 and 2025.
Following closely behind UI are the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and Covenant University, ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.
The 2026 ranking assessed 2,191 universities from 115 countries using 18 performance indicators across five key areas, teaching, research environment, research quality, industry connections, and international outlook. The comprehensive analysis included over 174.9 million citations from 18.7 million research publications and survey responses from more than 108,000 scholars worldwide.
UNILAG earned the highest score among Nigerian universities in research quality, with 66.7 points. Meanwhile, BUK was rated best in international outlook, and Covenant University recorded the highest score in industry engagement, reflecting its strong ties with the business sector.
Other Nigerian institutions featured in the 2026 ranking include Landmark University, Ahmadu Bello University, the Federal University of Technology (Minna, Akure, and Owerri), the University of Ilorin, University of Jos, University of Nigeria (Nsukka), and several others across federal, state, and private categories.
