The University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, has reclaimed its position as Nigeria’s leading tertiary institution in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, after falling to fourth place in 2025.
According to the ranking released on Thursday via THE’s official website, UI was placed between 801 and 1,000 globally, outperforming all other Nigerian universities, a spot it last held in 2023.
The 2026 assessment featured 2,191 universities from 115 countries, evaluated using 18 performance indicators across five major areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook.
Other Top Nigerian Universities following UI on the national list are:
1. University of Lagos (UNILAG) – 801–1000
2. Bayero University, Kano (BUK) – 1001–1200
3. Covenant University (CU) – 1001–1200
4. Landmark University – 1001–1200
THE data revealed that UNILAG achieved the highest score in research quality (66.7), while BUK ranked best in international outlook and Covenant University recorded the strongest industry connections.
Overall, 51 Nigerian universities featured in the 2026 ranking. Only UI and UNILAG made the top 1000 globally, while five others i.e Ahmadu Bello University, Federal University of Technology Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, and University of Nigeria, Nsukka ranked between 1201 and 1500. Fourteen institutions were placed above 1501, while 27 others were listed but unranked.
Full Nigerian Ranking (THE 2026)
1. University of Ibadan (801–1000)
2. University of Lagos (801–1000)
3. Bayero University, Kano (1001–1200)
4. Covenant University (1001–1200)
5. Landmark University (1001–1200)
6. Ahmadu Bello University (1201–1500)
7. Federal University of Technology, Minna (1201–1500)
8. University of Ilorin (1201–1500)
9. University of Jos (1201–1500)
10. University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1201–1500)
11. Babcock University (1501+)
12. Delta State University, Abraka (1501+)
13. Ekiti State University (1501+)
14. Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (1501+)
15. Federal University of Technology, Akure (1501+)
16. Federal University of Technology, Owerri (1501+)
17. Federal University Oye-Ekiti (1501+)
18. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (1501+)
19. Lagos State University (1501+)
20. Nnamdi Azikiwe University (1501+)
21. Obafemi Awolowo University (1501+)
22. University of Benin (1501+)
23. University of Calabar (1501+)
24. University of Port Harcourt (1501+)
25–51. Other institutions including Admiralty University, Akwa Ibom State University, Redeemer’s University, and University of Delta also featured.
The 2026 ranking was compiled from over 174.9 million citations across 18.7 million research publications, alongside survey responses from more than 108,000 academics worldwide reflecting a significant global shift in higher education quality metrics.
Times Higher Education, a globally recognised independent body, noted that to qualify for ranking, universities must teach undergraduates, conduct multidisciplinary research, and have published at least 1,000 papers between 2020 and 2024, with a minimum of 100 publications per year.
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