University of Johannesburg has overtaken University of the Witwatersrand to become the new South African leader and overall number one in the Times Higher Education (THE) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) University Rankings 2024, released today.
In the second edition of the THESSA University Rankings, University of Johannesburg has jumped forward one place to take the number one spot. South Africa holds all top three places. University of Pretoria is in second place (up from fourth), and former number one, University of the Witwatersrand, is now in third place.
South Africa also holds tenth place with newcomer institution University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Somalia joins the top 10 with SIMAD University in seventh place.Rwandaboasts the best newcomer with University of Rwanda going straight into the top 10 in sixth place. Rwanda’s highest ranked institution overall is UGHE – University of Global Health Equity in fourth place, up from eighth.
Ghana has two universities in the top 10, University of Ghana in fifth place up from 17, and Ashesi University in ninth position (no move).Uganda also holds a top 10 spot with Makerere University in eighth position, down from five.
Five new countries join the rankings:Namibia, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde and Eswatini. Namibia leads the newcomers with University of Namibia in joint-13th place.Côte d’Ivoire is represented by four institutions, while each of the other debutant countries have one institution ranked.
Nigeria impresses on representation and in elite top 50
Nigeria is the standout nation in terms of representation with 41 universities ranked, up from 37 last year. This is more than double the amount of any other SSA country. Nigeria’s highest ranked university is American University of Nigeria at number 12.Kenya has 15 institutions ranked and Ghana follows with 11. Somalia and South Africa each have 10 universities in the table.
Nigeria is the most represented country at the top of the table with 13 universities in the top 50, followed by South Africa with eight and Ghana with seven. In all, 15 of the ranked SSA countries have at least one institution in the top 50.
Nigeria boasts the highest number of newly ranked institutions with 15 debutants, followed by Kenya with 10 new additions.
South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria and Mozambique all excel in different areas
The THESSA University Rankings 2024 is calculated using five pillars, with each pillar made up of several metrics given varying weightings. The pillars are: resources and finance; access and fairness; student engagement; ethical leadership; and Africa impact.
South Africa tops both the resources and finance pillar and the access and fairness pillar. University of Pretoria leads on resources and finance with a score of 86.4, while University of South Africa is first for access and fairness with a score of 84.
In the student engagement pillar, Rwanda comes first with UGHE – University of Global Health Equityscoring 97.4. The ethical leadership pillar is led by Landmark University in Nigeria with a score of 96.8. And finally, for Africa impact, Mozambique takes the top spot with Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, which gains a score of 81.8.
Addressing the challenges of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa through methodology
The SSA University Rankings have been developed specifically to address the challenges faced by higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, in a project initiated by a consortium of African and international higher education organisations and companies. The 2024 rankings is the second edition of the SSA rankings.
In November 2023, we announced improvements to the methodology. New metrics on leadership, ethics and African heritage have been added and, to accommodate these, the overall structure of the methodology has been tweaked. These are substantial changes and mean that results from the 2024 rankings cannot be directly compared with results from the 2023 edition.
Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, said: “The Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings are different from other international rankings as they focus not on metrics developed with an eye on the global north’s leading institutions and the global north’s priorities, but on metrics that matter most to the development of nations south of the Sahara – including access and inclusion, economic growth, sustainability and African impact.
“Times Higher Education is proud to have developed this ranking in deep partnership with African institutions and organisations themselves to deliver a set of benchmarks with real, focussed impact.”
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