University of Johannesburg Tops 2024 Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings

The University of Pretoria follows in second place, with the University of the Witwatersrand securing third.

Picture: University of Johannesburg/Facebook

Clarence Ford interviews Ellie Bothwell, Rankings editor at Times Higher Education.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2025 have been released, featuring over 2000 institutions from 115 countries and territories.

Bothwell explains that universities are evaluated based on several key criteria, including research output, academic performance, teaching quality, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

Oxford University has maintained its position at the top for the ninth consecutive year, driven by notable advancements in industry engagement and teaching quality.

"It broke the record this year."

- Ellie Bothwell, Rankings Editor – Times Higher Education

The Times Higher Education Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings 2024 have also been released, ranking 129 universities from 22 countries.

The methodology used for these rankings has been tailored to assess the role of universities in addressing some of the region's most pressing challenges.

South Africa’s University of Johannesburg takes the top spot, excelling in the access and fairness, and resources and finance pillars.

The University of Pretoria follows in second place, with the University of the Witwatersrand securing third.

"We can see that Joburg is really strong across the board. It's actually the only university this year to get an overall score of above 80 out of 100."

- Ellie Bothwell, Rankings editor – Times Higher Education