How does the University of Liberia rank in Africa and globally?

Published: November 6, 2025

The President of the University of Liberia, Dr. Layli Maparyan, claimed that UL is presently ranked 5,000 in the world and 502 on the African continent.

Dr. Maparyan made this statement on October 22 while unveiling a five-year strategic plan aimed at positioning Liberia’s leading higher institution among Africa’s top 300 universities by 2030.

She emphasized that achieving this goal would transform UL, bring it on par with some of its West African peers, and solidify its flagship status.

According to Dr. Maparyan, these rankings are based on factors such as faculty research output, research citations, graduation rates, and student-to-staff ratios.

The claim

Dr. Marparyan exact quote: “Currently, UL is ranked 5,000 in the world and 502 in Africa, making it one of the lowest ranked in Africa.”

Claim 1: Is the University of Liberia Currently Ranked 5,000 Globally?

Rating Justification

To check this claim, we launched an online search and reviewed national and international university ranking organizations.

We checked the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE) university rankings, two of the most respected global ranking organizations. QS evaluates universities using research output, citations, faculty-student ratios, and reputation surveys, while THE assesses teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income. Neither QS nor THE currently ranks the University of Liberia because the institution does not meet participation and data submission requirements, has limited Scopus-indexed research, and has low international visibility.

We found the 2025 AD Scientific Index, a globally recognized academic ranking system that assesses the research performance of universities and individual scholars across more than 200 countries. It focuses on measurable research output using data from Google Scholar, applying bibliometric indicators such as the h-index, which evaluates the productivity and citation impact of publications, and the i10-index, which counts the number of papers cited at least ten times.

According to AD Scientific Index October 23, 2025 report, the University of Liberia holds a global rank of 10,725 out of 38,000 institutions worldwide. This ranking is based on the research output and citation metrics of its affiliated scholars.

AD Scientific Index report ranks University of Liberia globally 10,725 out of 38,000 institutions

We also found another latest ranking by EduRank. This globally recognized platform measures universities using publicly available data on research outputs, citations, web traffic, and alumni influence, sourced from Microsoft Academic Graph and web analytic s tools such as SimilarWeb, an AI‑powered digital data company providing real‑time market intelligence, competitive insights, and consumer trends to accelerate business

EduRank ranks the University of Liberia 5,851 out of 14,131 globally, and first in Liberia.

EduRank ranks the University of Liberia 5,851 out of 14,131 in the world

Conclusion

Based on these findings, we conclude that the claim made by Dr. Layli Maparyan that UL is ranked 5,000 globally is mostly correct. The actual global ranking, according to EduRank, places UL at 5,851 out of 14,131 universities globally

Claim 2: Does UL Rank 502 Among Africa’s Universities?

To fact-check this claim, we again reviewed ‘The AD Scientific Index.’ It ranks Liberia leading higher-education institution 502 among 1,542 institutions evaluated in the African region.

AD Scientific Index report ranks University of Liberia 502 among 1,542 institutions in Africa

We again reviewed EduRank, specifically its Africa ranking. Our review shows that the platform ranked Liberia 223 out of 1,104 universities in Africa.

EduRank ranked Liberia 223 out of 1,104 universities in Africa

Conclusion

Based on these findings, we conclude that the claim made by U.L President Dr. Layli Maparyan that LUX is ranked 502 among other African Countries is mostly correct. AD Scientific Index report and EduRank rank 502nd among 1,542 and 223rd among 1,104 institutions in Africa, respectively.

Editor’s Note:

This fact check was produced by Local Voices Liberia with support from the European Union through the Liberia Media Empowerment Program (LMEP). The funder had no say in the editorial decision leading to the production of this fact-check report.  Read the original fact-check report here.