“Where Are the Giants?”: SA Celebrate as Mzansi Dominates Rankings of Africa’s Top Universities

• The University of Cape Town topped Africa’s rankings at 184th globally, maintaining its position in the world’s top 200 for a fourth straight year
• Eight of Africa’s top 10 universities are South African, with Egypt’s American University in Cairo and Ain Shams University the only non-SA entries
• No African university has broken into the world’s top 150, with UCT coming closest at 184th globally

South Africa has once again left the rest of Africa in the dust on the QS World University Rankings 2027. Eight of the continent’s top 10 universities are South African, and no African institution has cracked the global top 150.

The University of Cape Town came in at number one on the continent, ranked 184th in the world. QS evaluated over 8,800 universities globally, judging institutions on academic reputation, employer reputation, sustainability, and research impact.

UCT sat comfortably above every other African institution. The University of Johannesburg came in second on the continent at 292nd globally. Stellenbosch University was third at 296th, with Wits at 302nd globally.

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The University of Pretoria rounded out the top five African institutions at 326th globally. Egypt’s American University in Cairo entered the top 10 in sixth place, ranked 390th in the world. Ain Shams University, also from Egypt, came seventh at 551st globally.

SA’s stranglehold on African higher education

The University of KwaZulu-Natal held the eighth spot at 600th globally. Rhodes University and the University of South Africa, or UNISA, completed the top 10, sitting between 901st and 1000th in the world.

QS used criteria including academic reputation, employability, learning experience, global engagement, sustainability, and diversity. South Africa’s dominance across those measures was clear from top to bottom.

South Africans on social media were not shy about celebrating the results. Many pointed out that the country’s academic strength has long been underestimated globally. Some questioned why Nigerian and Zimbabwean universities, often seen as strong on the continent, did not feature in the top 10.

The results confirmed what many already suspected. South Africa is running a different race when it comes to higher education on the continent.

See the rankings on the Facebook post:

More varsity rankings

• In another article, Wits University has claimed the top spot in Africa in the 2026 Centre for World University Rankings, placing 200th out of 21,291 universities.
• The University of Cape Town placed 276th globally in the 2026 Centre for World University Rankings.
• The University of Cape Town has once again put South Africa on the map with its best African university ranking.

Source: Briefly News