The University of Ibadan, UI, Oyo State, has been named Nigeria’s finest university in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026.
The ranking, which was published on THE’s website on Thursday, placed the Ibadan-based federal university between 801 and 1,000 globally, ahead of other leading Nigerian universities, a position it previously held in 2023.
THE examined 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and evaluated them using 18 performance factors in five critical areas: education, research environment, research quality, industry, and international view.
UI improved from fourth place in 2025 to first place in Nigeria’s 2026 rankings. It dethroned Covenant University, the top university in 2024 and 2025.
Following UI, the University of Lagos, Bayero University, and CU are ranked second, third, and fourth in Nigeria, respectively.
The 2026 list represented a transformation in the global higher education scene, with over 174.9 million citations from 18.7 million research articles analyzed, as well as survey answers from over 108,000 researchers worldwide.
The rankings also reflect the strength of specific universities. UNILAG has the highest quality research score (66.7).
BUK is recognized as the finest Nigerian institution in terms of worldwide outlook, while Covenant has the highest industry score, showing a strong relationship to industry.
Out of 51 Nigerian institutions featured in THE 2026 ranking, only UI and UNILAG fall between 801 and 1000; BUK, CU, and Landmark University fall between 1001 and 1200; and five schools—Ahmadu Bello University, Federal University of Technology, Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, and University of Nigeria—stand globally between 1201 and 1500.
In addition, 14 Nigerian universities were placed higher than 1501, while 27 were unranked.
See the full list.
- University of Ibadan (801–1000)
- University of Lagos (801–1000)
- Bayero University (1001–1200)
- Covenant University (1001–1200)
- Landmark University (1001–1200)
- Ahmadu Bello University (1201–1500)
- Federal University of Technology, Minna (1201–1500)
- University of Ilorin (1201–1500)
- University of Jos (1201–1500)
- University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1201–1500)
- Babcock University (1501+)
- Delta State University, Abraka (1501+)
- Ekiti State University (1501+)
- Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (1501+)
- Federal University of Technology, Akure (1501+)
- Federal University of Technology, Owerri (1501+)
- Federal University Oye-Ekiti (1501+)
- Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (1501+)
- Lagos State University (1501+)
- Nnamdi Azikiwe University (1501+)
- Obafemi Awolowo University (1501+)
- University of Benin (1501+)
- University of Calabar (1501+)
- University of Port Harcourt (1501+)
- Admiralty University of Nigeria
- Akwa Ibom State University
- Al-Hikmah University
- Augustine University
- Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti
- Bauchi State University, Gadau
- Bayelsa Medical University
- Baze University
- Bells University of Technology
- Bowen University
- Evangel University, Akaeze
- Federal University of Lafia
- Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun
- Fountain University
- Godfrey Okoye University
- Igbinedion University Okada
- Kaduna State University
- Lagos State University of Education
- Lagos State University of Science and Technology
- Lead City University
- Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria
- Nasarawa State University, Keffi
- Redeemer’s University
- Rivers State University
- Thomas Adewumi University
- University of Cross River State
- University of Delta
THE is a globally recognized independent organization that provides data and analysis for the higher education sector, including the widely adopted World University Rankings.
While data submission is accessible to all universities, schools are only considered for the World University Rankings 2026 if they teach undergraduates, do research across a variety of areas, and publish at least 1,000 research articles between 2020 and 2024, with a minimum of 100 each year.
