Claims making the rounds that the University of Ibadan (UI) has overtaken the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to become Nigeria’s best university in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings are misleading.
Fresh checks by FactCheck Africa reveal that both UI and UNILAG are ranked within the same global performance band, the 801–1000 category, which means they are jointly rated as Nigeria’s number one universities for 2026.
The real story behind the claim
Several media reports had earlier claimed that UI “reclaimed” its top position ahead of UNILAG. However, THE’s verified data shows otherwise. The minor variation in their individual scores is not enough to separate them statistically.
Confirming this via email, Caroline, a media representative of THE, stated:
“In answer to your question, the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos are in joint position 1st in Nigeria.”
She went on to explain that universities ranked beyond the top 200 are grouped in bands because their scores are too close to distinguish. “Institutions within the same band are listed alphabetically, meaning they share the same national ranking,” she added.
How the ranking system works
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings evaluate more than 2,000 universities around the world using five key indicators that measure teaching, research, global reputation, and industry collaboration.
The teaching indicator, which carries the highest scores, measures the reputation of the university, the staff-to-student ratio, and income.
The research environment assesses the volume, income, and reputation of a university’s research work, while research quality focuses on how often a university’s research is cited globally. This is an indicator of the school’s impact and influence.
The international outlook is an assessment of how well a particular university connects with other universities around the world. This is measured based on the number of foreign students, international staff, and research collaborations. Finally, industry income examines how well a university partners with industries and how much income it generates through research and knowledge transfer.
All these indicators are combined to produce a university’s final position within its global ranking band.
Other Nigerian and African universities
Following UI and UNILAG are Covenant University and Bayero University, Kano, which fall within the 1001–1200 global band.
Across Africa, other institutions that share the 801–1000 category with UI and UNILAG include the University of Cape Coast (Ghana), Alexandria University (Egypt), Cairo University (Egypt), and Ain Shams University (Egypt).
Conclusion
The claim by some media organisations that UI ranked higher than UNILAG and vice versa, in the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, is false. Both universities remain jointly recognised as Nigeria’s best, holding equal status within the same global ranking category.
