The Open Science Revolution: University of Nairobi Leads Kenya in CWTS Leiden 2025 Ranking

A revolutionary shift in global research rankings has unveiled the full scale of the University of Nairobi's academic influence. The CWTS Leiden Ranking 2025 (Open Edition), which for the first time uses open data to track scholarly work, shows Kenya's flagship university as the nation's undisputed research leader and a rising continental force in key fields.

The Leiden Ranking's new "Open Edition" abandons traditional, subscription-only databases for the open-source OpenAlex system. The data used in the ranking focuses on research papers published in 2020-2023. More importantly, it now counts research published in regional journals and in languages beyond English; work often missed by conventional rankings. This methodological pivot, aimed at inclusivity, has dramatically recast the global academic map. Universities in the Global South, long undercounted, are seeing their true productivity revealed.

The release of the 2025 CWTS Leiden Ranking (Open Edition) has revealed the University of Nairobi as key global player, finally counting research that traditional metrics previously ignored.

This year, the ranking assessed 2,831 universities worldwide. Within this elite pool, 156 African institutions successfully made the cut, marking a milestone for the continent’s visibility in the global "knowledge economy."

The University of Nairobi has emerged as the undisputed heavyweight of Kenyan academia. On the continental stage, UoN ranks 40th in Africa and 1,130th globally for scientific impact. This means the research output meets the “gold standard" of research quality. CWTS measures the scientific impact by tracking how often a university’s work is cited by other scientists globally. For UoN, maintaining the top spot in Kenya means its researchers aren't just writing papers; they are setting the scientific agenda for the region. A high performance here signifies that UoN’s work is moving the needle in global science.

The raw data in the OpenAlex system has also revealed UoN’s dominance in Collaboration and Open Access. The university has successfully positioned itself as the gateway for East African research. In the category of All Sciences, UoN ranks 1st in Kenya and 43rd across all of Africa for its collaboration and open-access performance. The numbers are staggering: out of 4,928 total publications, an incredible 4,112 (over 83%) are Open Access. This means UoN is not just producing knowledge; research findings are readily available to scholars and students across the globe.

The university’s collaboration stats are equally impressive. Over 60% of its papers involve international partners, primarily from Europe and North America. It acts as a regional hub, frequently co-authoring projects with institutions in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. By breaking down geographic and financial barriers, UoN has ensured its research has a far greater reach than many of its global peers.

The National Scoreboard: Kenya’s Top Performing Universities:

While UoN holds the top spot, the domestic landscape is shifting. Only four public universities in Kenya reached the high threshold for inclusion this year. UoN leads the pack with 2,575 high-impact publications, followed by JKUAT (2,122), Kenyatta University (2,037), and Moi University (730).

However, a closer look at the data shows that the "all-around champion" is facing stiff competition in specialized fields. While UoN is a continental giant in Biomedical and Health Sciences (ranking 37th in Africa), JKUAT has snatched the national lead in Mathematics and Computer Science. Meanwhile, Kenyatta University has overtaken UoN in the Social Sciences and Humanities, securing an impressive 12th place in Africa.

CWTS Leiden Ranking 2025 (Open Edition), offers both a celebration and a clear roadmap. The move to open data has proven that UoN has the volume and the visibility. The challenge now is to convert this recognized volume and regional relevance into even greater global citation impact, to ensure its high-quality work resonates powerfully across the entire international scholarly community.

For stakeholders, from government policymakers to prospective students, this ranking reinforces a critical truth: The University of Nairobi is not only central to Kenya’s knowledge economy but is also strengthening its voice in the vital global conversation on science and progress.

About the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2025 (Open Edition)

The CWTS Leiden Ranking 2025 (Open Edition) is a sophisticated global ranking system produced by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University. Unlike traditional rankings that rely on closed, paywalled databases like the Web of Science, the Open Edition is based entirely on OpenAlex. This open-data approach offers a more inclusive and transparent view of scientific performance, particularly for universities in the Global South. It ranks institutions based on publications from 2020–2023, providing insight into how universities contribute to the global knowledge commons.

The Ranking evaluates performance across six major fields:

• Biomedical and Health Sciences
• Life and Earth Sciences
• Mathematics and Computer Sciences
• Physical Sciences and Engineering
• Social Sciences and Humanities
• All Sciences (Combined)

Performance is measured through three key indicators:

• Scientific Impact: Based on citation counts and the proportion of highly-cited papers.
• Measuring international, inter-institutional, and industry co-authorship.
• Open Access: Tracking the proportion of research available freely through Gold, Green, or Hybrid open-access models.