The University of Ibadan (UI) has been named Nigeria’s best university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, reclaiming the top spot after two years.

According to the ranking released on Thursday, October 9, 2025, UI ranked within the 801–1000 global band, ahead of 50 other Nigerian institutions — a major leap from its fourth-place finish in 2025.

The global ranking evaluated 2,191 universities across 115 countries, using 18 performance indicators across five key areas:

Teaching

Research environment

Research quality

Industry engagement

International outlook

UI’s rise dethroned Covenant University, which topped the Nigerian chart in 2024 and 2025. Following closely behind UI are:
1️⃣ University of Lagos (UNILAG) – 2nd
2️⃣ Bayero University, Kano (BUK) – 3rd
3️⃣ Covenant University – 4th

The report also revealed:

UNILAG ranked highest for research quality (score: 66.7).

BUK led in international outlook.

Covenant University achieved the top industry score, reflecting strong private-sector ties.

Out of the 51 Nigerian universities ranked, only UI and UNILAG appeared in the 801–1000 global category. Others followed in lower tiers:

BUK, Covenant, and Landmark University (1001–1200)

ABU Zaria, FUT Minna, UNILORIN, UNIJOS, UNN (1201–1500)

14 others (1501+)

The ranking was based on 174.9 million citations from 18.7 million research publications and survey data from over 108,000 scholars worldwide.

For inclusion, universities must:

Teach undergraduates

Conduct multidisciplinary research

Publish at least 1,000 research papers between 2020 and 2024

🏆 Top 10 Nigerian Universities (THE 2026):

University of Ibadan (801–1000)

University of Lagos (801–1000)

Bayero University, Kano (1001–1200)

Covenant University (1001–1200)

Landmark University (1001–1200)

Ahmadu Bello University (1201–1500)

FUT Minna (1201–1500)

University of Ilorin (1201–1500)

University of Jos (1201–1500)

University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1201–1500)