Cairo: Egypt has achieved a remarkable milestone by leading Arab and African countries in the number of universities listed in two prominent 2025 international university ranking systems, while securing the second position in a third ranking.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the Cabinet's Media Center highlighted the significant progress made by Egyptian universities in these international rankings. This achievement is attributed to the unprecedented expansion in university establishments and the development of the higher education system in the country.
Egyptian universities have made a substantial impact in the most recognized international rankings for 2025, which reinforces the country's academic standing in the Arab world and Africa. This success underscores Egypt's ability to build a competitive higher education system that aligns with international standards, as noted by the Media Center.
The Times Higher Education 2025 rankings showed Egypt at the forefront in the Arab and African regions in terms of the number of universities listed. This ranking evaluates over 2,000 universities based on 13 sub-indicators, including teaching, research, access to knowledge, and international outlook. The number of Egyptian universities in this ranking has increased to 35 in 2025, compared to 28 in 2024 and 26 in 2023. Remarkably, there was only one Egyptian university included in 2011, and none were listed from 2013 to 2015.
In the Spanish Scimago ranking for 2025, Egypt also ranked first in Africa and second in the Arab world. This ranking assesses academic and research institutions based on research performance, innovative outputs, and societal impact measured by online visibility. The number of Egyptian universities featured rose to 52 in 2025, up from 51 in 2024 and only 15 in 2009. Furthermore, Egypt advanced 12 places in the Scimago Scientific Publication Index, reaching 25th in 2024, compared to 37th in 1996.
Additionally, Egypt ranked first in Africa and second in the Arab world in the QS World University Rankings for 2025, with 15 universities, up from 6 in 2020. The number of Egyptian universities in the Arab universities segment of the same ranking increased to 36 in 2025, compared to 22 in 2020. The QS rankings evaluate universities on eight indicators, including academic reputation and job market preparation for students, across nearly 1,500 universities worldwide.
In a similar vein, Egypt leads Arab and African countries in the US News rankings for 2025, with 29 universities listed, compared to 27 in 2024 and 11 in 2019. The US News rankings are based on 13 indicators, focusing on research performance and evaluations from the global academic community.