Latest global ranking unveils South Africa's 12 best universities
According to BusinessTech, 12 South African universities have taken spots on the 2025 list, with the University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, and Stellenbosch University all making it to the top 500.
The University of Cape Town even placed in the top 300 in the world.
The best universities in South Africa
The annual list from CWUR is an academic ranking of global universities that assesses the quality of education, employability, quality of faculty, and research without relying on surveys and university data submissions.
According to these rankings, the University of Cape Town is not only the best institution in South Africa, but in all of Africa too.
UCT ranks first in South Africa, with a score of 77.4 and a global ranking of 275. Wits came second, with a score of 77.1 and a global ranking of 292. Wits also ranked as the second-best institution in all of Africa.
Rounding out the top three was Stellenbosch University, scoring 74.9 and ranking 458 in the world.
Harvard University in the US took the number one spot globally, with a score of 100.
TOP 12
There were 12 South African institutions that made the list for best universities. Check them out below:
National rank University Global rank Score 1 University of Cape Town 275 77.4 2 University of the Witwatersrand 292 77.1 3 Stellenbosch University 458 74.9 4 University of KwaZulu-Natal 505 74.4 5 University of Pretoria 557 73.9 6 University of Johannesburg 607 73.4 7 North-West University 860 71.5 8 University of the Free State 1141 69.8 9 University of Western Cape 1189 69.6 10 University of South Africa 1224 69.4 11 Rhodes University 1336 68.9 12 Nelson Mandela University 1716 67.3
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