KAMPALA: Makerere University has climbed to 11th among African universities and 776th globally in the July 2026 Webometrics rankings, retaining its position as Uganda’s top-ranked university.
The latest ranking places Makerere first in Uganda and 11th in Africa, marking a significant improvement from its January 2026 position of 925th globally and 13th in Africa.
Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe welcomed the improvement, crediting staff and students for the institution’s performance.
“I congratulate all the staff and students on Makerere University’s improved Webometrics ranking in Africa and globally. Your hard work has paid off,” Nawangwe said in a post on X on Friday.
The July ranking places Makerere among the top universities globally for its overall web presence, research influence, openness and academic excellence.
According to the ranking data provided by Webometrics, Makerere recorded an Impact Rank of 1,185, an Openness Rank of 1,406 and an Excellence Rank of 715.
The university’s latest performance represents a notable improvement over recent editions.
In January 2026, Makerere was ranked 925th globally and 13th in Africa, compared with 1,071st globally and 18th in Africa in July 2025.
The university has consistently maintained the number one position in Uganda in the rankings.
The improvement is also reflected in Makerere’s longer-term trajectory. The institution was ranked 1,086th globally in 2023, 1,043rd in 2024 and 1,071st in both January and July 2025 before making the latest jump to 776th.
The July 2026 ranking also places Makerere ahead of several established universities around the world, including institutions in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.
Makerere leads Uganda and East Africa
The ranking confirms Makerere’s continued dominance in Uganda’s higher education landscape.
Kampala International University, which was ranked second in Uganda and 49th in Africa in the July 2026 edition, listed Makerere as the leading university in both Uganda and East Africa.
The July ranking places Makerere ahead of the University of Nairobi, University of Dar es Salaam, Kenyatta University and Kampala International University among the leading universities in East Africa.
What the ranking measures
Webometrics rankings assess universities using indicators linked to their visibility, research impact, openness and academic excellence. The current Webometrics platform describes its rankings as measuring web presence, openness, impact and academic performance.
Makerere’s greatest improvement in the latest edition came in its Excellence Rank, which moved from 1,095 in January 2026 to 715 in July.
Its Impact Rank also improved from 1,593 to 1,185 over the same period, while the Openness Rank moved from 1,217 to 1,406.
The figures suggest that Makerere’s overall improvement has been driven particularly by stronger measures of research excellence and impact, even as its openness indicator moved down the ranking.
The university’s rise comes as it continues to position itself as Uganda’s leading research institution and one of Africa’s major centres of higher education, research and innovation.
For Makerere, the latest Webometrics result provides a further measure of its growing global visibility and research footprint, while also placing renewed emphasis on maintaining improvements in research output, digital visibility and open access.