Makerere University has once again cemented its status as Uganda’s top academic institution in the latest Webometrics global university rankings, released in July 2025.
The rankings, which assess over 30,000 institutions worldwide based on their web presence, research output, and openness, placed Makerere at 778th globally the highest in the country.
While the university continues to perform strongly in research excellence (ranked 1,143) and openness (1,207), its impact ranking which measures online visibility stood at 1,643, signaling a need for a stronger digital push to match its academic influence.
In the private sector, Kampala International University (KIU) emerged as the best performer, ranking second nationally and 1,516th globally.
Its relatively high impact score (1,530) points to an effective online strategy. However, KIU’s research excellence ranking of 3,706 indicates a gap in global scholarly output.
Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) took the third position nationally, sitting at 1,957th worldwide.
The university maintains solid research credentials, but its low impact rank (7,151) underscores a significant shortfall in digital visibility.
Meanwhile, Kabale University recorded a notable leap, surpassing older institutions like Kyambogo and Busitema in both research and openness categories.
The university’s steady climb is attributed to targeted investment in academic publishing and digital infrastructure.
Gulu University ranked fourth nationally, with marked improvement in research and openness but continued to lag online, posting an impact rank of 11,161.
Trailing behind were Kyambogo and Busitema Universities, which both showed weak performances in research and web impact, pulling down their overall rankings.
In the private university segment, Uganda Martyrs University, Uganda Management Institute (UMI), and the Islamic University in Uganda secured positions among Uganda’s top 10.
Notably, UMI stood out for its strong impact score, reflecting a well-structured digital and content strategy, despite being a professional training-focused institution.
The Webometrics ranking system evaluates universities using three key metrics; Web Impact (50%) – based on the visibility of web content and external backlinks, Research Excellence (40%) – measured through top-tier publications and citations and Openness (10%) – reflecting transparency in publishing and access to research
Though it does not assess teaching quality or employability, Webometrics remains a global benchmark for measuring institutional visibility, influence, and scholarly reach in the digital age.
Ugandan universities are increasingly recognizing the importance of not just academic output, but also digital transformation and online engagement as a cornerstone of global competitiveness.
Established in 1922 as a humble technical school, Makerere University is one of the oldest and most prestigious Universities in Africa. In January of that year, the school, which was later renamed Uganda Technical College, opened its doors to 14 day students who began studying Carpentry, Building and Mechanics.
The College soon began offering various other courses in Medical Care, Agriculture , Veterinary Sciences and Teacher Training. It expanded over the years to become a Center for Higher Education in East Africa in 1935. In 1937, the College started developing into an institution of higher education, offering post-school certificate courses.