The University of Ilorin has emerged the best university in Nigeria, 5484th in the world and 55th in Africa

The University of Ilorin has emerged the best university in Nigeria, ranked 5484th in the world and 55th in Africa, the July edition of the World University ranking, conducted by Webometrics has revealed.

Since 2004, the ranking is published twice a year (January and July), and it covers more than 20,000 Higher Education Institutions worldwide.
Previously, no Nigerian university has ever been rated amongst the first five thousand best in the world. Quality of educational research, school size, academic prestige, and others are amongst several other conditions considered for the ratings.

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, emerged the second in the country, 5756th in the world and 61st in Africa. It is followed by University of Jos, University of Lagos, University of Benin, University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria Nsuka, all with 66th, 68th, 77th, 79th, 99th positions in Africa and 5882th, 5936th, 6324th, 6425th and 7170th respectively position in the world.

The new rating is seen as a sign of improvement, as the best Nigerian university in its February ratings emerged in 6340th global position.

The University of Lagos, which was ranked at the 6340th position, is now 5936th but it slipped to the fourth position amongst other Nigerian universities.

Harvard University was rated the best in the world, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University respectively.

Africa has only one university amongst the first 500, and five in the first one thousand, with University of Cape Town, South Africa leading in Africa and ranked 340th in the entire world. Stellenbosch University, University of Pretoria, and University of the Witwatersrand, followed the ranking as the leading African universities respectively