Kenya’s leading universities have fallen behind some of their regional counterparts in the latest Times Higher Education global rankings, with the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University the country’s only institutions placed in the 2027 rankings.
The University of Nairobi was ranked in the 1,601-1,800 band, while Kenyatta University was placed in the 1,801-2,000 bracket. UoN remains Kenya’s highest-ranked university, but its position is significantly below Uganda’s Makerere University.
“Tanzania fields the next most universities, three, led by Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in the 1,601-1,800 band. Botswana, Kenya and Uganda each have two representatives. The highest ranked of those is Uganda’s Makerere University in the 801-1,000 band. Kenya has two universities in the rankings, compared with three in Tanzania, five in Ghana, 17 in South Africa and 29 in Nigeria,” reads the report.
The 2027 rankings have introduced a new banding system, making comparisons with the previous year’s positions less straightforward. Times Higher Education increased the number of bands from 11 last year to 18 this year, with universities now receiving individual positions up to 300 before being placed into progressively wider ranking bands.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, 69 universities from 16 countries have been included in the latest rankings, compared with 55 universities from 14 countries in the previous edition.
South Africa remains the region’s strongest performer, with the University of Cape Town returning to the global top 150 at joint 147th position. The University of the Witwatersrand follows in the 301-325 band, while Stellenbosch University is ranked in the 326-350 band.
Nigeria is the most represented African country, with 29 institutions featuring in the rankings. Among them are Covenant University, the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos, all of which were placed in the 801-1,000 band.
Ghana has five universities in the rankings, with the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana also placed in the 801-1,000 band. Tanzania has three representatives, led by Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in the 1,601-1,800 band, while Botswana, Kenya and Uganda each have two.
At the global level, the University of Oxford retained the top position for the 11th consecutive year. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was ranked second, while Princeton University and Stanford University shared third place.
The University of Cambridge came fifth, followed by Harvard University, California Institute of Technology and Imperial College London. The University of California, Berkeley and Yale University shared ninth position.
The rankings assess research-intensive universities using measures covering teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
Times Higher Education uses 17 performance indicators grouped into five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry. The indicators include research volume, research income, research reputation, citation impact, research excellence, international staff and students, research links, as well as industry income and patents.
Within the teaching category, teaching reputation carries the highest weighting. It is based on the Times Higher Education Academic Reputation Survey conducted between November 2025 and February 2026. Times Higher Education chief global affairs officer Phil Baty said African universities were gaining a stronger presence in global higher education.
“Africa is a growing force in the geopolitics of knowledge, and its universities are earning a growing presence on the world stage,” Mr Baty said.
He added: “Africa south of the Sahara not only has a university back in the world top 150, it has more institutions represented on the global stage in the elite university rankings than ever before (69, up from 55), from more nations (16) than ever before.”
The latest rankings have put fresh attention on the performance of Kenya’s leading universities as institutions elsewhere on the continent increase their representation in global rankings.
The 2027 Times Higher Education rankings cover 2,297 institutions across 118 countries and territories.
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