UCT remains Africa’s top university in latest global rankings

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has once again claimed its spot among the world’s leading universities, ranking in the top 1.3% of institutions worldwide in the 2025 edition of the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). With a global position of 275th, UCT retains its standing as Africa’s highest-ranked university.

While the number of institutions ranked has grown from 20 966 in 2024 to 21 462 in 2025, making global competition ever more intense, UCT has maintained a stable and strong position globally, highlighting the university’s academic and research excellence over time.

“In a rapidly shifting higher education landscape, UCT’s continued presence in the top tier of just over 21 000 universities reflects the university’s deep and enduring strength across teaching, graduate outcomes and research,” said Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Mosa Moshabela.

Leading locally and globally

UCT retained its standing as the number one university in both South Africa and Africa. In the subject-specific rankings, UCT placed 186th for education, 201st for employability and 253rd for research, with an overall score of 77.4.

“While we pride ourselves in the academic excellence at UCT, it’s also worth noting that our mission is much broader than the limited measures included in ranking systems. We are also committed to a societal mission for the betterment of South Africa and Africa as a whole and the contribution of Africa to the world.”

CWUR’s rankings, which are among the largest and most rigorous in the world, are based on numeric indicators, without surveys or data submissions by institutions. The ranking assesses institutions using seven outcome-based indicators, grouped into four key areas:

• education, which measures alumni academic achievement (25%)
• employability, based on alumni career success (25%)
• faculty, reflecting international academic distinctions (10%)
• research, which considers output, quality, influence and citations (40%).

A competitive global environment

UCT was ranked 271st in 2024, and while this year’s position is slightly lower, the total number of ranked universities increased substantially. Professor Moshabela acknowledged that while UCT remains committed to performing at the highest level in an increasingly competitive global higher education environment, the university’s focus is on the quality and impact of its education and research.

“Rankings can be quite useful in measuring certain aspects of academic performance and providing a reasonably good benchmark of academic quality in comparison to our peers across the globe. While we pride ourselves in the academic excellence at UCT, it’s also worth noting that our mission is much broader than the limited measures included in ranking systems. We are also committed to a societal mission for the betterment of South Africa and Africa as a whole and the contribution of Africa to the world,” he added.