The University of Cape Town (UCT) has emerged top in the latest university rankings in South Africa, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2023 released on Wednesday (12 October).
17 African countries feature in the rankings, with South Africa having the highest average overall score of the continent at 39.8.
University rankings in South Africa 2023
The table below shows the university rankings in South Africa 2023 along with their world rankings:
| Rank | University | World ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Cape Town | 160 |
| 2 | Stellenbosch University | 251-300 |
| 3 | University of the Witwatersrand | 251-300 |
| 4 | University of KwaZulu-Natal | 401-500 |
| 5 | Durban University of Technology | 501-600 |
| 6 | University of Johannesburg | 601-800 |
| 7 | North West University | 601-800 |
| 8 | University of the Western Cape | 601-800 |
| 9 | University of the Free State | 801-1000 |
| 10 | University of Pretoria | 801-1000 |
| 11 | Rhodes University | 801-1000 |
| 12 | University of South Africa | 1001-1200 |
| 13 | University of Fort Hare | 1201-1500 |
| 14 | Tshwane University of Technology | 1201-1500 |
| 15 | University of Venda | 1201-1500 |
The Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University received a “reporter” status in the rankings. This means that while it provided data such as number of students per staff, number of international students and female to male ratio, it did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive a rank.
The University of Oxford topped the rankings worldwide, followed by Harvard University, University of Cambridge, Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The California Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of California (Berkeley), Yale University and Imperial College London rounded off the top 10.
‘Deeply proud’
Reacting to the rankings, UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng said the university was “deeply proud” of its academics and the wider UCT community.
“UCT competes globally with institutions that have considerably more resources than we do, which makes this result all the more remarkable,” she said in a statement.
“As a university in the Global South, we are particularly pleased to retain our standing internationally while at the same time prioritising and serving the critical needs of the Global South and the people living here – priorities which are not usually recognised in global rankings.”
UCT rose 23 positions worldwide from 183 last year to 160 this year. It also retained its position as the top university in Africa.
THE World University Rankings assessed a total of 1,799 institutions globally across 13 performance indicators in five areas.
These areas included citations (30%), research (30%), teaching (30%), international outlook (7.5%) and industry income (2.5%).