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Despite Nigeria placing 16th at the recently concluded FINA Women’s World Cup 2026 in Berlin, Germany, D’Tigress have maintained their position as the highest-ranked African nation in women’s basketball, holding firm at No. 8 in the latest FIBA World Ranking Women, presented by Nike.
While several nations shuffled positions inside the Top 20 on the back of their World Cup campaigns, five-time defending African champions D’Tigress remained static, extending their run as the continent’s flag bearers in the global standings, a status they have held since breaking into the world’s top 10 for the first time after their historic Olympic quarter-final run in Paris.
Though, the African queens lost three Group Stage games to Korea, Hungary and France, they are the best ranked African team
Reigning World Champions USA topped the rankings with a perfect 6-0 record in Berlin, while runners-up France tightened their grip on second place. Bronze medallists Spain jumped three places onto the podium, and host nation Germany posted the biggest climb in the Top 40, rising seven places after reaching the Semi-Finals for the first time.
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Elsewhere, Australia and Belgium slipped as Spain and Germany leapfrogged them following their deep Berlin runs, while China’s fight through the Quarter-Final qualification round kept them inside the Top 8.
Despite the shifts around them, Nigeria’s position was unmoved — a reflection of a ranking system that rewards consistent results over time rather than a single tournament outing. The D’Tigress reached Berlin off the back of a fifth consecutive AfroBasket title, extending an unbeaten continental run dating back to 2015, though a difficult group draw alongside France, South Korea and Hungary limited further ranking gains from the World Cup itself.
With the update, Nigeria remains the standard-bearers for African women’s basketball on the global stage, well clear of continental rivals Mali, who sit further down the Top 20.
