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South Africa ranked as Africa's strongest higher education and research ecosystem in 2026.
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Egypt and Ghana were ranked in the continental ranking published by MAPHE.
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Only three African countries scored above 50 points in the global index.
South Africa, Egypt and Ghana are set to have the strongest higher education and research ecosystems in Africa in 2026, according to a new global ranking published by research analytics firm MeasureHE.
The ranking, called “HE Country 100”, evaluates higher education and research systems in 100 countries using 25 indicators related to research quality, academic integrity, global reputation, international cooperation and sustainability.
To qualify, countries need to produce at least 4,000 relevant scientific publications between 2020 and 2024 and provide reliable demographic and investment data.
The study divided its indicators into seven categories: research quality, global reputation, openness, academic integrity, demography and investment, international integration and sustainability.
Each country received a score between 0 and 100 in various categories using statistical models designed to allow comparisons between countries with different population sizes and economic conditions.
Research quality was given the most importance in the final score, at 35%, followed by global reputation at 20%.
South Africa leads the continent
South Africa ranks first in Africa and 28th globally with an overall score of 71.4 points.
The country recorded particularly strong results in academic integrity, where it earned 99.9 points, and sustainability, where it earned 78.2 points.
Its weak areas include demography and investment with a score of 39.9 points and international integration at 48.8 points. Egypt ranks second in Africa and 41st globally with a score of 63 points. Ghana ranked third with a score of 51.4, ranking 63rd worldwide.
They were the only three African countries to score above 50 points in the index. Tunisia ranks fourth in Africa and 69th globally with a score of 46.7. This was followed by Ethiopia, Morocco, Uganda, Nigeria and Algeria. Kenya dropped out of Africa's top 10 and ranked 85th worldwide.
Western countries continue to dominate global rankings
Globally, the United Kingdom ranks first with a score of 92.9. The Netherlands came in second place with 89.6 points, followed by the United States with 88.2 points, Sweden with 88.1 points and Canada with 87.8 points.
The full African rankings published by MapHE are as follows:
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South Africa (28th globally)
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Egypt (41st)
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Ghana (63rd)
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Tunisia (69th)
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Ethiopia (71st)
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Morocco (72nd)
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Uganda (76th)
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Nigeria (79th)
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Algeria (83rd)
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Kenya (85th)
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Tanzania (88th)
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Botswana (92nd)
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Rwanda (93rd)
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Zimbabwe (94th)
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Malawi (96th)
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Cameroon (98th)
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Senegal (100th)
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