Top 14 Ranking Universities In West Africa 2025
There are over a thousand universities in West Africa, and it might interest you to find out the top-ranking universities in the West Africa region.
According to data obtained from the Times Higher Education 2025 ranking, we’ll show you the 14 best universities in West Africa.
The ranking rates university performance using 18 “carefully calibrated performance indicators” grouped into five areas. They are Teaching (the learning environment), Research environment (volume, income, and reputation), Research Quality (citation impact, research strength, research excellence, and research influence), International outlook (staff, students, and research), and Industry (income and patents).
The Quality of Research takes 30 per cent of the points and the Research environment makes 29 per cent. Teaching makes up 29.5 per cent and International outlook 7.5 per cent. Meanwhile, a university’s ability to help industry with innovations, inventions and consultancy makes up 4 per cent of the points.
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Top Ranking Universities In West Africa
Below is the list of the top 11 best-ranking universities in West Africa. According to the list, Nigeria tops the ranking with 10 universities, and Ghana with 1 university.
1. University of Cape Coast
The University of Cape Coast is ranked the best university in West Africa and the fourth best in Africa according to THE Rankings 2025.
The university is located in Cape Coast with two campuses; Southern and Northern Campus. There are four colleges at the university: the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, the College of Education Studies, the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, and the College of Health and Allied Sciences.
The School of Graduate Studies is home to around 7,500 students studying at the graduate level. The school is known for its innovative teaching and research and academic excellence
2. Covenant University
Covenant University, is one of the best and most ranking universities in West Africa. According to the latest ranking, Covenant University is the best university in Nigeria. The University is a private Pentecostal Christian university located in Ota, Nigeria. Covenant University of the fastest-growing university in the West Africa region.
It has four colleges, mostly dedicated to vocational studies: the College of Business and Social Sciences; the College of Leadership and Development Studies; the College of Engineering; and the College of Science and Technology.
Covenant is affiliated with the Living Faith Church Worldwide and is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of African Universities, and the National Universities Commission.
3. Ahmadu Bello University
Ranked the second-best university in Nigeria and the third-best in West Africa, ABU Zaria is Nigeria’s second-oldest university. Named after the first premier of Northern Nigeria, ABU Zaria which was established in October 1962 is one of the largest universities in sub-Saharan Africa.
The university has 18 faculties which include physical sciences, social sciences, education, environmental design, medical sciences, and law among others.
ABU Zaria also has three campuses namely; the main Samaru campus, the Kongo campus where the faculties of law and public administration are located, and Funtua where the School of Basic Studies is located.
4. Landmark University
Established in 2011 by the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Landmark University is one of the best universities in West Africa. Located in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria, this private Christian university has grown to become a beacon in Africa.
Landmark University has four colleges: college of agricultural sciences, college of engineering, college of pure and applied science, and the college of business and social sciences. Each college is divided into different departments offering a range of both undergraduate and graduate degree programmes.
The university has developed partnerships with leading agricultural institutions across the country including the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the National Space Research and Development Agency.
5. University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan is located in Ibadan, the famous and populous capital of Oyo State, Nigeria. The University of Ibadan is the first and best public university in Nigeria. It is also one of the largest Nigerian universities in terms of landmass and population. Besides being one of the best and most competitive Southwestern universities, the University of Ibadan is highly regarded for its impressive academic standards.
The University of Ibadan began with just three departments – science, medicine and the arts – but has since expanded to take in 13 faculties, including social sciences, agriculture and forestry, education, technology, law and dentistry.
6. University of Lagos
The University of Lagos is located in the commercial capital of Nigeria. It was established in 1962 by the federal government and is popularly known as UNILAG. The University of Ghana is the 6th best university in West Africa.
The University of Lagos is one of the most populous universities in Nigeria. In the aspect of enrolment, the university enrolls nearly 10,000 candidates per year.
The university is made up of three campuses – two campuses are located at Yaba and the college of medicine is located at Idi-Araba, Surulere.
UNILAG as it is popularly called has 12 faculties, including arts, clinical sciences, education, engineering, law, pharmacy, social sciences and sciences among others. There are also 12 institutes and colleges including the College of Medicine, the Institute of Maritime Studies, the UNILAG Business School and the International School.
7. University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is the second-best in Ghana and one of the best in West Africa. Established in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast, UG Legon is now the oldest and largest university in Ghana.
The University of Ghana has four colleges: the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Health Sciences, and the College of Humanities.
Within the colleges are research institutions and centres that include the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIR), the Centre for Tropical, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the Regional Institute for Population Studies.
With its main campus in Legon, the University of Ghana has a teaching hospital and a secondary campus in Accra. Its medical school is located in Korle Bu, southern Ghana with a graduate school of nuclear and allied sciences based at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (the University of Ghana is one of only a few universities in Africa that offers programmes in nuclear physics and nuclear engineering).
8. Bayero University
Established in 1975, Bayero University is one of the best universities in West Africa. Located in Kano, a city in northern Nigeria, the university is the first in Kano State.
Bayero University has two colleges including the colleges of health science and natural and pharmaceutical sciences. it also has 11 faculties including the faculties of arts and Islamic studies, agricultural sciences, computer science and information technology, communication, engineering, earth and environmental sciences, education, law, management sciences, social sciences and veterinary medicine.
The university also has a strong focus on research with centres including the Centre for Advanced Medical Research, Centre for Infectious Diseases, African Centre for Excellence in Population Health and Policy and many more.
9. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Established in 1952, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is one of the best institutions in West Africa.
Located in Kumasi, a city in southern Ghana, KNUST has six colleges within the university: the college of agriculture and natural resources, college of art and built environment, college of humanities and social sciences, college of engineering, college of health sciences and the college of science. These colleges are comprised of faculties, which are subdivided into departments offering a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programmes.
10. Federal University of Technology Akure
Located in Akure, Ondo State in Nigeria, the Federal University of Technology, Akure is one of the best universities in West Africa.
Established in 1981, the university has 10 schools including life science, physical science, earth and mineral sciences, environmental technology, engineering and engineering technology, agricultural and agricultural technology, logistics and innovation technology, computing, postgraduate studies and the college of health sciences. Each school offers pre-degree science programmes, shorter courses and university advanced basic science programmes.
11. Federal University of Technology Minna
Established in 1983, the Federal University of Technology, Minna is one of the best universities in West Africa. The university specializes in technological education and offers programmes in various technology-inclined fields.
There are schools of agriculture and agricultural technology, infrastructure process engineering and technology, innovation technology, environmental technology, life sciences, physical sciences, engineering and engineering technology, science and technical education, and information and communications technology.
12. University of Benin
The University of Benin is located in the city of Benin in Edo state. It was established as an Institute of Technology in 1970, became a university in 1971, took its current name in 1972, and became a federal institution in 1975.
Students study across two campuses, the Ekehuen campus and the main Ugbowo site. The university has the University of Benin Teaching Hospital with a range of facilities and medical fields.
There is also the John Harris Library located on the Ugbowo campus. There is also a library for each faculty.
13. University of Ilorin
The University of Ilorin (Unilorin) is located in the city of Ilorin, the state capital of Kwara State in Western Nigeria.
Originally a small university offering just a few subjects, Unilorin now has over 48,000 undergraduate and over 5,000 postgraduate students studying 90 academic programmes across 15 different faculties.
Subjects on offer include: agriculture, clinical sciences, medical sciences, law, education, engineering and technology, physical sciences, arts, pharmaceutical science, social sciences, veterinary medicine and management sciences.
14. University of Nigeria Nsukka
The University of Nigeria Nsukka sits at 8th among the top-ranking universities in West Africa.
Research activity is undertaken across the institution in the areas of African studies, education, developmental studies and herbal medicine and drugs research and development. There are also centres established to explore climate change, space science and energy research.
