World University Rankings 2025: Covenant, ABU emerge top in Nigeria (Full List)

Covenant University (CU) has again been listed as Nigeria’s overall best university in Times Higher Education (THE) 2025 Rankings.

In the 2025 rankings, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria came second, displacing the University of Ibadan which occupied the position for the 2024 rankings.

The Times Higher Education World Rankings is a comprehensive global ranking of universities published annually.

The 2025 rankings THE said it ranked more than 2,000 institutions from 115 countries and territories.

Globally, Oxford holds on to the top spot for the ninth consecutive year, bolstered by significant improvements in industry engagement and teaching. MIT rises to second place, overtaking Stanford, which drops to sixth.

The ratings were done based on 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.

Top 10 ranked universities globally

University of Oxford

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Harvard University

Princeton University

University of Cambridge

Stanford University

California Institute of Technology

University of California, Berkeley

Imperial College London

Yale University

Top 22 ranked Nigerian universities

-Covenant University

-Ahmadu Bello University

-Landmark University

-University of Ibadan

-University of Lagos

-Bayero University

-Federal University of Technology, Akure

-Federal University of Technology, Minna

-University of Benin

-University of Ilorin

-University of Nigeria, Nsukka

-Ekiti State University

-Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

-Federal University of Technology, Owerri

-Federal University of Oye-Ekiti

-Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

-Lagos State University

-Nnamdi Azikiwe University

-Obafemi Awolowo University

-University of Port Harcourt

-Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto

-Abia State University