Covenant University has once again secured the Nigeria No 1 spot in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.
The ranking, which evaluates universities across various performance metrics, placed the Ota, Ogun state-based institution ahead of other leading Nigerian universities, reaffirming its position as a model in university education.
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On the top five spots are Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria; University of Ibadan (UI); University of Lagos (UNILAG) and (Bayero University Kano (BUK).
Covenant University which occupied the top spot in Nigeria and 9th in Africa was on 800 – 1000 range.
ABU, Zaria, University of Ibadan and UNILAG that were rated 1001-1200 rankings occupied the second, third and fourth positions.
Other Nigerian Universities ranked by the global ranking body are the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA); University of Benin (UNIBEN); University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN); Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB); Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) Federal University, Oye, Ekiti State (FUOYE).
The 2025 rankings include 2,092 ranked universities that include 185 new entries when compared with last year.
Overall, Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 collected 472,694 datapoints from 2,860 institutions that submitted data.
“Our detailed methodology, trusted worldwide by students, teachers, academics, governments and industry experts, is based on: 157 million citations, 18 million research publications and survey responses from more than 93,000 scholars globally,” THE WUR added.
In Africa, University of Capetown, South Africa emerged first in the 100- 200 rankings.
The university was followed by the University of Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch University both from South Africa.
Others in order of rankings are Muhammed VI Polytechnic, Morocco; Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology; Mansoura University, Egypt; American University, Cairo; University of West Cape, South Africa; and the University of Pretoria also in South Africa.
On the global scale, Oxford held on to the top spot for the ninth consecutive year, bolstered by significant improvements in industry engagement and teaching MIT rose to the second place, overtaking Stanford, which dropped to sixth.
China edges closer to the top 10, further boosting its global research influence.
Australia’s top five universities all slipped down the rankings, due to declining reputation and international outlook.
Three new countries join the top 200; Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the rise of emerging markets in higher education.
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