Within Africa, the University of Cape Town (South Africa) emerges as the top-ranked institution, solidifying its reputation as a leader in higher education on the continent.
- Business Insider presents the top 10 best universities in Africa in 2025.
- The list is courtesy of Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.
- University of Cape Town (South Africa) leads in Africa.
The latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 report reveals key shifts in global academic standings. Oxford retains its position at the top for the ninth consecutive year, driven by substantial gains in teaching quality and industry engagement.
Meanwhile, MIT climbs to second place, overtaking Stanford, which falls to sixth. China continues its steady rise, edging closer to the top 10 and reinforcing its growing influence in global research.
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This year’s rankings evaluated over 2,000 institutions across 115 countries and territories, using a comprehensive framework of performance indicators grouped into five categories: Teaching (learning environment), Research Environment (volume, income, and reputation), Research Quality (citation impact, excellence, and influence), International Outlook (staff, students, and research), and Industry Engagement (income and patents).
While African universities did not secure positions among the global top performers, several institutions emerged as leaders within the region.
Below are the top 10 universities in Africa for 2025, as ranked by Times Higher Education.
1) University of Cape Town (South Africa)
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a multicultural, multinational community of around 5 000 academic and professional, administrative support and service staff, and some 29 000 students who come from over 100 countries across the globe. Offering degrees in six faculties – Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law and Science – UCT sees around 7 200 students graduate year on year.
2) Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa, which received full university status in 1918. The institution has grown from foundational four faculties (Arts, Science, Education and Agriculture), 503 students and 40 lecturing staff in 1918 in the town of Stellenbosch to a thriving university for 32 225 students who are guided by 3 400 academic and professional staff across five campuses and 10 faculties.
3) University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa)
Commonly known as “Wits”, the University of the Witwatersrand developed out of the South African School of Mines, set up in Kimberley in 1896.
4) Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (Morocco)
Established in 2016, Mohamed VI Polytechnic University is a not-for-profit, research focussed private university located in the city of Benguerir, Morocco. The university has the largest supercomputer in Africa, housed in the African Supercomputing Centre, which has enabled further scientific development and innovation for the continent, as well as the Modelling, Such technology has allowed the university to become a leading research institution in Africa.
5) University of Johannesburg (South Africa)
From vocational and traditional academic programmes to professionals and postgraduates, its four campuses offer students a choice of study programmes in eight faculties: Art, Design and Architecture; Education; Engineering and the Built Environment; Health Sciences; Humanities; Law; and Science, as well as in the College of Business and Economics. Staff and students of the university come from over 50 different countries in Africa and around the world.
6) Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST)
Egypt-Japan University for Science and Technology (E-JUST) was established in 2009 in Alexandria, Egypt, as a project between the Egyptian and Japanese governments. The university accepted its first students a year later, in 2010.
The university is supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japanese Supporting University Consortium, however the university is run entirely by the Egyptian government.
7) University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)
The University KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, eastern South Africa, was formed in 2004 following a merger of the University of Durban-Westville and the University of Natal, the first institutions to merge after government legislation aimed at reducing the number of South African universities.A five-campus university, it has links with more than 250 institutions globally.
8) American University in Cairo (Egypt)
Founded in 1919, The American University in Cairo (AUC) — Egypt’s global University — is a leading English-language, American-accredited institution of higher education and center of the intellectual, social and cultural life of the Arab world.
9) Future University in Egypt
Founded in 2006, Future University in Egypt is based in New Cairo, Egypt. Established only in 2000, New Cairo is one of the new cities which was built in and around Cairo to alleviate the congestion in downtown Cairo.
10) Kafrelsheikh University (Egypt)
Kafrelsheikh University is an Egyptian public university that opened in 2006. It has a student population of around 30,000 and 1,500 faculty members. The institution’s buildings had previously been a part of Tanta University.
Kafrelsheikh is the second most environmentally friendly university in the Arab World, according to the Global Green Metric ranking system. It is also gaining a reputation nationally as a research centre, ranking fourth among the country’s universities in international research citations.
