The World Economic Forum (WEF) has published a report by Phil Baty, Chief Global Affairs Officer of Times Higher Education (THE), that African universities have begun to do remarkably well in global university rankings.  This is contrary to widespread scepticism from many reputable universities such as Rhodes University in South Africa.

He notes that there are now 97 African universities ranked in the THE World University Rankings from 17 different countries and that five new countries, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, have recently entered the rankings for the first time.

The WEF report finds that African universities have improved across all 13 indicators and 5 pillars of these rankings, and that Nigeria and Egypt have risen faster than any other countries in the world for research impact as measures by citations.

The African Union’s Agenda 2063 proposed a revitalisation of African research and higher education. According to Peter Okebukola, President of the Global University Network for Innovation, the rise in the rankings is a response to this agenda and is the result of several factors, including the articulation of strategic goals, public pressure, and increased funding.