Rabat — Morocco has secured a presence – albeit modest — in the latest QS World University Rankings of 2026, with two universities making it to the recently published list by British firm Quacquarelli Symonds.
Out of 1,501 institutions ranked across 106 countries, Morocco is represented by Mohammed V University in Rabat, placed in the 1,201–1,400 band, and Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, which appears in the 1,401+ category. Despite being among the country’s most established institutions, neither managed to break into the upper tiers of the global or continental rankings.
Other African countries have made more significant strides by the list’s criteria. Egypt has 20 universities featured in the 2026 ranking, while South Africa lists 11, including the University of Cape Town at 150th place and the University of the Witwatersrand at 29th..
The rankings also pinpoints a broader trend across the continent: only ten African countries are represented in the QS list, most with just one or two institutions. Nigeria, for instance, failed for the third year in a row to place any of its 297 universities among the top 1,000. No African university ranked in the global top 100, but the University of Cape Town’s 150th place stands out as a stronger performer within the continent.
At the global level, American and British universities topped the list with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) securing the number one position, followed by Imperial College London, Stanford University, and the University of Oxford.
The QS rankings are based on eight indicators, including academic and employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, research citations, international diversity, graduate employment outcomes, and sustainability engagement.
Morocco’s limited presence in international rankings signals the need for stronger research policies, improved academic-industry links, and more ambitious internationalization strategies.
A recent study in the African Scientific Journal examining Morocco’s higher education system emphasized raising education standards, enhancing teaching quality, modernizing curricula, and expanding global partnerships. The study also called for strengthening the English language as a medium of instruction to better prepare students for the global stage.
