UCT remains the top-ranked university in Africa

The University of Cape Town (UCT) remains the best university in Africa. The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) has ranked it in the top 1.3% of universities worldwide.

The rankings were released on Monday, 13 May. UCT was ranked 271 on the 2024 Global 2000 list. 

UCT REMAINS THE TOP-RANKED UNIVERSITY IN AFRICA 

The Center for World University Rankings grades universities on four factors without relying on surveys and university data submissions: education (25%), employability (25%), faculty (10%), and research (40%). This year, 62 million outcome-based data points were analysed for the rankings.

Of the 20 966 institutions assessed, only the top 2 000 received a ranking, placing UCT in the top 1.3% of universities globally. CWUR publishes the largest academic rankings of global universities.

UCT interim Vice-Chancellor Emeritus Professor Daya Reddy said the university’s performance in this ranking reflects its commitment to and investment in delivering exceptional teaching and learning and driving research with social responsiveness.  

Moreover, Reddy said the ranking is also a testament to the outstanding efforts of the academic staff, whose dedication ensures the seamless operation of teaching and learning activities. 

“While we acknowledge that the indicators used in rankings do not reflect the intricacies of the collective work of our university community, we are proud of the excellence of our researchers who ensure that we remain at the forefront of cutting-edge discoveries and innovation and who carry that excellence through into their teaching,” he added. 

In 2023, eight South African universities made it to the list of 1000 best institutions in the world when the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy published its Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Once again, UCT was the only South African university that featured in the top 300 globally.

HERE’S THE GLOBAL TOP TEN

Notably, the United States of America has eight representatives in the Top 10 and is the most represented country in the top 2000 with 329 universities. 

Harvard, Stanford, and MIT are the most cited universities in the world, and all Ivy League institutions are among the top 70 this year.

In China, there are now 324 universities in the top 2000, and all C9 League institutions improved this year. 

Japan – led by the University of Tokyo in 13th place – has 110 top 2000 institutions.

• Harvard University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Stanford University
• University of Cambridge
• University of Oxford
• Princeton University
• Columbia University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Yale University
• California Institute of Technology