Following rapid adoption of western education by teeming African population, many African countries are now establishing numerous university institutions. The front line countries are the Anglophones – the countries that were colonized by the Britain, followed by the Arabia
The statistics cover 50 African countries.
We understand that having highest number of universities does not literally translate to having best quality education — quantity is distinctively different from quality.
According to data published by Statista, a leading global market and consumer data provider, Nigeria tops the list of African countries with the highest number of universities. Nigeria is said to have 262 universities. Despite having highest number of universities many Nigerians struggle to get admission in Nigerian universities as the population seeking for university education in the most populous African country is greater than the carrying capacities of the available 262 universities. Arguably, many of the universities in Nigeria do not offer quality education to its students. This is evident in the number of Nigerian youths pursing university education in other countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, even in smaller countries in Africa.
Top 20 Countries with Highest Number of Universities in Africa
The following are the top 20 African countries that have highest number of universities are
- Nigeria = 262 universities
- Tunisia = 204 universities
- Morocco = 154 universities
- Kenya = 129 universities
- South Africa = 123 universities
- Algeria = 104 universities
- Ethiopia = 73 universities
- Egypt = 70 universities
- Ghana = 70 universities
- Uganda = 69 universities
- Somalia = 60 universities
- Sudan = 58 universities
- Tanzania = 52 universities
- Democratic Republic of Congo = 47 universities
- Zambia = 44 universities
- Libya = 40 universities
- Senegal = 34 universities
- Benin = 27 universities
- Angola = 23 universities
- Malawi = 23 universities