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City · Kenya

Research in Nairobi

Science Explorer records 176 research institutions in Nairobi, Kenya. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022–2025 are University of Nairobi, World Agroforestry Centre and Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Research institutions
176
15 of them ranked worldwide
Research works
69k
▲ 73% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate, 2022–2025
14.1%
record average 16.5%

A city carries no overall standing here. The composite score is built for institutions and countries, the units its floors and field normalisation were designed around. An empty rank on this page is a statement about the measure, not about the place.

Which research institutions are in Nairobi?

#InstitutionWorksAgainst the largest hereWorld rank
1University of NairobiUniversity 13,667 #3,493
2Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyUniversity 8,059 #5,163
3Kenyatta UniversityUniversity 7,345 #5,821
4Kenya Medical Research InstituteResearch facility 3,781 #3,899
5International Centre of Insect Physiology and EcologyResearch facility 3,014 #7,662
6International Livestock Research InstituteResearch facility 1,707 #6,131
7Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research OrganizationResearch facility 1,311 #14,513
8Strathmore UniversityUniversity 1,309 #11,017
9Technical University of KenyaUniversity 1,296 #9,223
10World Agroforestry CentreNonprofit 1,233 #3,637
11African Population and Health Research CenterHospital / health system 1,232 #12,392
12Kenya Agricultural Research InstituteResearch facility 1,221 #13,805 all time
13Catholic University of Eastern AfricaUniversity 1,130 #19,659
14Aga Khan University Hospital NairobiHospital / health system 956 #15,717
15Kenya Methodist UniversityUniversity 933 #14,483
16Centers for Disease Control and PreventionGovernment institution 897 #10,581
17Institute of Economic AffairsInstitution 821 #27,682
18Institute for Security StudiesNonprofit 806 #21,632
19National Museums of KenyaArchive 802 #10,729
20United Nations Environment ProgrammeInstitution 802 #18,973
21Kenyatta National HospitalHospital / health system 722 #18,759
22Aga Khan University NairobiUniversity 707 #9,332
23Health Strat (Kenya)Company 681 #19,818
24BirdLife InternationalNonprofit 620 #22,190
25United States International University AfricaUniversity 599 #13,372
26United Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeInstitution 593 #21,297
27Institute of Primate ResearchResearch facility 571 #11,933 all time
28Practical ActionNonprofit 559 #22,476 all time
29Ministry of HealthGovernment institution 557 #11,972
30International Center for Tropical AgricultureNonprofit 545 #12,416
31Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and FisheriesGovernment institution 534 #24,896 all time
32Kenya School of GovernmentGovernment institution 440 #23,488
33Africa International UniversityUniversity 438 #15,285
34Daystar UniversityUniversity 424 #22,168
35Kenya Wildlife ServiceArchive 367 #20,084
36International Maize and Wheat Improvement CenterNonprofit 357 #14,864
37Save the ElephantsInstitution 281 #22,255
38Pan Africa Christian UniversityUniversity 270 #20,951
39Kenya Forest ServiceGovernment institution 270 #26,546 all time
40KCA UniversityUniversity 269 #24,394
41Amref Health AfricaNonprofit 267 #19,744
42Nairobi HospitalHospital / health system 267 #24,197
43Kenya Forestry Research InstituteResearch facility 266 #16,563
44Go ShengInstitution 257 #38,198 all time
45Karen HospitalHospital / health system 225 #22,957 all time
46Africa Nazarene UniversityUniversity 220 #27,885
47United States Army Medical Research Directorate - AfricaGovernment institution 216 #20,395 all time
48International Institute of Tropical AgricultureNonprofit 202 #15,511
49Kenya Medical Training CollegeUniversity 190 #21,855
50Multimedia University of KenyaUniversity 189 #26,284
51Adventist University of AfricaUniversity 187 #18,352
52African Centre for Technology StudiesNonprofit 173 #20,578
53African Conservation CentreNonprofit 173 #25,397 all time
54British CouncilNonprofit 158 #35,014 all time
55International Potato CenterResearch facility 144 #23,897 all time
56British Institute in Eastern AfricaInstitution 143 #10,282 all time
57African Institute for Development PolicyNonprofit 143 #37,472 all time
58East African UniversityUniversity 130 #37,873 all time
59African Academy of SciencesResearch facility 128 #29,397 all time
60Riara UniversityUniversity 126 #42,526 all time

By fractional works over the whole record; world rank on research quality in 2022–2025. Bars are scaled to the largest institution in this city, not to anything off the page.

How concentrated the city is

The same institutions as shares of everything the list accounts for. A city that is one university and a city that is twelve read alike as a table and not at all alike here.

University of Nairobi: 20.7%Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology: 12.2%Kenyatta University: 11.1%Kenya Medical Research Institute: 5.7%56 others listed: 50.2%21%largest
University of Nairobi14k · 20.7%Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology8,059 · 12.2%Kenyatta University7,345 · 11.1%Kenya Medical Research Institute3,781 · 5.7%56 others listed33k · 50.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

What is Nairobi strongest at in research?

Relative to its size, research in Nairobi is most concentrated in Business and International Management, Safety Research and Accounting (7.2× the world share in Business and International Management).

  1. Business and International ManagementSubfield · 131.5 works7.2×
  2. Safety ResearchSubfield · 268.9 works5.6×
  3. AccountingSubfield · 512.4 works4.8×
  4. Management Information SystemsSubfield · 329.3 works4.6×
  5. VirologySubfield · 44.1 works4.4×
  6. Strategy and ManagementSubfield · 635.7 works4.2×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient against the world baseline. Inside a single field a city is a meaningful unit, which is why this is where a city is measured at all.

Which keywords describe research in Nairobi?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Risk Management, Poverty Reduction, Sustainability, Climate Change, Supply Chain Management, Social Capital, Epidemiology and Economic Growth.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this city's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change940▲ 2.0×115 topics
  2. Epidemiology922▲ 1.35×135 topics
  3. Sustainability909▲ 2.1×109 topics
  4. Supply Chain Management644▲ 4.0×24 topics
  5. Globalization623▲ 1.83×127 topics
  6. Risk Management584▲ 7.0×15 topics
  7. Innovation534▲ 2.9×66 topics
  8. Economic Growth516▲ 3.5×30 topics
  9. Social Capital514▲ 5.6×20 topics
  10. Poverty Reduction511▲ 22×5 topics
  11. Corporate Governance430▲ 3.4×27 topics
  12. Economic Development389▲ 2.8×44 topics
  13. Leadership370▲ 4.5×28 topics
  14. Development359▲ 6.0×19 topics
  15. Gender Equality329▲ 6.9×18 topics
  16. Sustainable Agriculture329▲ 6.0×16 topics
  17. Financial Performance316▲ 3.1×15 topics
  18. Smallholder Farmers306▲ 8.0×6 topics
  19. Adaptation304▲ 6.1×14 topics
  20. Entrepreneurship303▲ 4.5×18 topics
  21. Maternal Mortality301▲ 7.9×5 topics
  22. Community Health Workers298▲ 20×2 topics
  23. Rural Development295▲ 4.9×21 topics
  24. Social Networks290▲ 6.3×12 topics
  25. Gender Inequality274▲ 11×7 topics
  26. Performance Measurement272▲ 5.5×6 topics
  27. Health Inequalities265▲ 13×5 topics
  28. Socio-economic Factors254▲ 13×2 topics
  29. Child Mortality252▲ 21×1 topic
  30. Health Systems252▲ 21×1 topic
  31. Finance223▲ 6.6×4 topics
  32. Empowerment217▲ 13×4 topics
  33. Social Protection213▲ 26×2 topics
  34. Poverty Alleviation212▲ 12×3 topics
  35. Conditional Cash Transfers212▲ 33×1 topic
  36. School Subsidies212▲ 33×1 topic
  37. Financial Constraints211▲ 11×2 topics
  38. Financial Inclusion210▲ 24×1 topic
  39. Microfinance210▲ 24×1 topic
  40. Antiretroviral Therapy207▲ 7.4×6 topics

What research is done in Nairobi?

  1. 1 Global Maternal and Child Health Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health 252 works
  2. 2 Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare Safety Research 212 works
  3. 3 Microfinance and Financial Inclusion Economics and Econometrics 210 works
  4. 4 Child Nutrition and Water Access Nutrition and Dietetics 178 works
  5. 5 Agricultural Innovations and Practices General Agricultural and Biological Sciences 177 works
  6. 6 Islamic Finance and Banking Studies Accounting 150 works
  7. 7 Construction Project Management and Performance Management Science and Operations Research 150 works
  8. 8 Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law 137 works
  9. 9 Innovation and Socioeconomic Development Business and International Management 130 works
  10. 10 Public Procurement and Policy Strategy and Management 126 works

Research output over time

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more.