The University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) has ranked first amongst higher institutions in Nigeria with the most scholarly output

According to recent data from Scopus, the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) has secured the top spot in Nigeria for scholarly output from 2020 to 2023. As of January 7, 2024, UNN has amassed 7025 publications contributed by 5813 authors. The University of Ibadan (UI) closely follows, with 6978 publications involving 4732 authors.

The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) claimed the third position, generating 3714 publications with contributions from 2739 authors. The University of Lagos follows UNILORIN with 3552 publications from 2606 authors.

Other notable institutions include Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in the 5th position with 3532 publications from 2731 authors, and Covenant University securing the 6th position with 3432 publications contributed by 2303 authors. Upon closer examination of the Scopus data, it was revealed that despite the University of Nigeria having the highest research output, the University of Ibadan garnered more citations.

Publications by UNN authors during the specified period received 44,741 citations, whereas UI attracted 68,318 citations, and UNILORIN accumulated 25,818 citations.

In terms of growth, the University of Nigeria demonstrated a substantial 21.9% increase in publication output from 2020 to 2022. In contrast, the University of Ibadan experienced a more modest 4.3% growth during the same period.

UNILORIN emerged as the university with the highest growth at 25.5% among the top three institutions.

Regarding the expansion in the number of authors, UNN reported an impressive 23.9% increase, followed by UNILORIN with 9.8%. The University of Ibadan ranked third with a marginal 0.5% growth in this aspect. Scopus confirmed that the calculation of the institutional Scival ranking exclusively relies on publications in journals indexed within its database. Additionally, Scopus emphasizes the significance of its data in university rankings, asserting that it provides valuable insights into the genuine research performance of institutions