The University of Ibadan has maintained its position as Nigeria's leading research university, according to the latest AD Scientific Index. The index, refreshed on October 1, 2026, ranked Nigeria 48th among 221 countries and third in Africa, with 384 institutions and 53,580 scientists indexed. The University of Ibadan ranked 889th among nearly 19,800 universities globally, placing it among the top 4.5 per cent of universities worldwide.
The AD Scientific Index report, signed by Emeritus Prof. Peter Okebukola, Chairman of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, noted that at least eight of Nigeria's top 10 universities are federal institutions. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, retained second position nationally, while the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, and Bayero University also featured among Nigeria's leading institutions.
The report highlighted the research impact of individual Nigerian academics, noting that 16 of the 22 Nigeria-based scholars in the national top 25 by citations work in federal universities. Five of the scholars are from the University of Ibadan, while Ahmadu Bello University, the University of Nigeria, and Obafemi Awolowo University each have two researchers among the group. Mayowa Owolabi of the University of Ibadan was ranked Nigeria's most-cited researcher, with 257,748 citations.
The report noted that Nigeria's research presence had expanded considerably over recent editions of the AD Scientific Index. The number of Nigerian universities ranked increased from 257 in the 2024 edition to more than 300 in 2026, while the number of indexed Nigerian scientists rose from 53,214 in November 2025 to 53,580 by October 2026. Nigeria now has more indexed scientists than South Africa and Egypt.
The report attributed the institutional rankings to researchers' publicly available scholarly records, particularly Google Scholar profiles. The AD Scientific Index measures researchers using the H-index, i10-index, and total citations. The report cautioned that rankings should be interpreted carefully because the index is continuously refreshed and its global field has expanded significantly.
The AD findings corroborate gains made by Nigerian universities, as seen in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. THE ranked 29 Nigerian universities in its 2027 edition, up from 24 in 2026. Nineteen of the 29 Nigerian institutions were federal universities, while seven were state-owned and three were private institutions.
The report recommended that Nigerian universities regularly verify their researchers' Google Scholar profiles, strengthen doctoral training, support highly cited research groups, and expand international research collaboration. The Federal Government is developing a national framework for assessing Nigerian tertiary institutions, with NiTERAC involved in the development of Nigeria's national tertiary institution ranking exercise.
Key points
- University of Ibadan retains top spot in Nigeria's research ranking.
- Federal universities dominate Nigeria's top research institutions.
- Nigeria's research presence expands, with more indexed scientists than South Africa and Egypt.
