27-05-2025
Egypt tops Arab, African countries in number of universities listed in int'l ranking systems
Cairo University
CAIRO - 27 May 2025: Egypt topped Arab and African countries in the number of universities listed in two 2025 international university ranking systems, and ranked second in a third one.
The Cabinet's Media Center highlighted the progress made by Egyptian universities in international rankings amidst the unprecedented expansion in university establishments and the development of the higher education system.
A qualitative leap has been achieved by Egyptian universities in the most prominent international rankings for 2025, reinforcing Egypt's academic standing in the Arab world and Africa.
This emphasizes its success in building a competitive higher education system that meets international standards, the Media Center said.
The infographics showed that Egypt topped the Arab and African countries in the number of universities listed in the Times Higher Education 2025 rankings, which evaluates more than 2,000 universities based on 13 sub-indicators covering teaching, research, access to knowledge, and international outlook.
The number of Egyptian universities included in the ranking has increased since its release, reaching 35 in 2025, compared to 28 in 2024 and 26 in 2023. This compares to just one university in 2011, while no Egyptian university was included in the ranking in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Egypt also ranked first in Africa and second in the Arab world in the number of universities included in the Spanish Scimago ranking for 2025, which evaluates academic and research institutions based on indicators of research performance, innovative outputs, and societal impact measured by their online visibility.
The number of Egyptian universities included in this ranking increased to 52 in 2025, compared to 51 in 2024 and only 15 in 2009. Egypt also climbed 12 places in the Scimago Scientific Publication Index since its release, ranking 25th in 2024, compared to 37th in 1996.
The infographics showed that Egypt ranked first in Africa and second in the Arab world in the number of universities included in the QS World University Rankings for 2025, with a total of 15 universities, compared to 6 in 2020. The number of Egyptian universities included in the same ranking of Arab universities also increased to 36 in 2025, compared to 22 in 2020.
The QS World University Rankings is based on eight indicators to evaluate each university, including the university's academic reputation, how it prepares students for the job market, and the proportion of international students at nearly 1,500 universities worldwide.
In the same context, infographics showed that Egypt leads Arab and African countries in the number of universities listed in the US News rankings for 2025, with 29 universities, compared to 27 in 2024 and 11 in 2019.
The US News rankings are based on 13 indicators to evaluate each university based on its research performance and evaluations by members of the academic community around the world.
