Kenyatta University (KU) has emerged as the top university in Kenya in the latest World University Rankings 2026, surpassing the University of Nairobi (UoN). The rankings, released by Times Higher Education (THE), featured 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and territories, assessing them based on the quality of education, research, innovation, and societal impact.
Locally, KU took the top spot, followed closely by UoN in second place. Egerton University and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology came third and fourth, respectively. Kabarak University completed the top five, while Karatina, Kibabii, and Machakos Universities followed in sixth, seventh, and eighth positions. Mount Kenya University, Murang’a University of Technology, and Riara University rounded off the top eleven.
Globally, both Kenyatta University and UoN were ranked in the 1000–1500 band a drop from the previous ranking, where they were positioned between 500 and 1000. Despite this decline, Kenyatta University outperformed UoN in several key areas, including good health and well-being, learning experience, financial stability, and research quality.
On the global stage, the University of Oxford retained its crown as the world’s best university, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in second place. Princeton University and the University of Cambridge tied for third, while Harvard and Stanford Universities shared fifth position. The California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, and the University of California, Berkeley completed the top ten list. Notably, seven of the top ten universities were from the United States, with three from the United Kingdom.
According to THE, the 2026 rankings were based on 18 performance indicators measuring teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook — providing “the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons trusted by students, academics, and governments worldwide.”
