Oxford University top in global ranking for ninth year

The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom held on to the top position in the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings for a record-breaking ninth year, leading a top 10 list that continues to be dominated by the United States with seven institutions and the UK with three, despite ongoing erosion in the global reputation of both countries.

In the US, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology rose to second place, overtaking Stanford University in California, which suffered a significant drop to sixth. The University of Cambridge maintained fifth place as the second highest UK university. Imperial College London fell one place to 9th.

The US has 23 universities in the top 50, 38 in the top 100 and 55 in the top 200 – more than any other country.

However, the global reputation of US universities is at a record low. American universities received 47 % of the votes (for teaching and research combined) in THE’s 2016 reputation survey and this dropped sharply to 38% this year - the steepest long-term decline of any country.

In an ongoing trend mainland China edged closer to the top 10, further boosting its global research influence and placing more pressure on Western institutions which increasingly face competition from the rest of the world, particularly Asia, in terms of numbers of ranked institutions and quality.

For large countries (with more than 50 ranked universities), mainland China is now the fifth best in the world in research quality, behind only Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.

Mainland China also has the second largest year-on-year improvement in research quality among this group of countries.

In a notable drop Australia’s top five universities all slip down the rankings, due to declining reputation and international outlook, while over 40% of Canadian universities decline, according to analysis provided by THE.

Three new countries joined the top 200: Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the rise of emerging markets in higher education.

Europe continued its impressive representation in the rankings with 684 ranked institutions in 2025 – the second most-represented continent after Asia.

However, Europe’s representation at the elite end of the rankings has been shrinking over time and it now has 91 of the top 200 universities, an 8% drop from 99 in 2019, according to a THE press release.

The THE World University Rankings assess research-intensive universities across 18 performance indicators, which are divided into five pillars, covering their core missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and internationalisation.

Released on 8 October, the 21st edition of the ranking had 2,092 universities ranked – up from 1,907 last year – from 115 countries and regions.

Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, said: “With US universities dominating the top 10 there is intense competition with the country's elite institutions jockeying for position with relatively significant rises and falls in the top 10.

“Most notable was Stanford’s relatively dramatic drop this year and on the flip side is Princeton’s continued rise over several years.

“While the reputation of US universities is the highest in the world, among academics, its decline over recent years has been quite significant and its global reputation is at a record low with US global reputation for excellence and prestige in major, steady global decline.”

Despite this decline 38 US universities are ranked in the top 100, up from 36 last year and the US is the most represented country with 174 institutions ranked this year, up from 169.

In addition to its three in the top 10, the UK had seven institutions in the top 50, 12 in the top 100 and 25 in the top 200 – broadly the same as last year. The UK was second only to the United States with 55.

However, among the 12 British universities in the top 100, the average teaching and research reputation scores have dropped for the second year in a row and UK higher education as a whole records the worst year-on-year decline in research reputation of all the large countries in the ranking (the 11 nations with at least 50 institutions ranked this year and last year), according to a THE press release.

Baty said overall the picture of UK higher education in the rankings was positive, but the sector was being “battered by numerous prevailing winds”, chief among which were “the extremely stretched finances it is facing and the restrictions on recruiting international students making it harder for them still, making it almost impossible to see how the sector can sustain its position in the coming years without significant help”.

Details of trends within each global region – Arab states, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Sub-Saharan Africa follow below.

Arab States

A record 163 Arab universities made the rankings, up from just 63 in 2020, with Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) joining the top 200 for the first time.

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia was joint 176th (up from band 201-250) and took the top spot for the entire Arab region while the UAE’s Abu Dhabi University was ranked joint 191, up from 251-300.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, previously unranked, headed into the top 500, making it Morocco’s highest ranked institution. Kuwait newcomer, American University of the Middle East, also joined the top 500 in band 401-500, and Bahrain made its debut with Arabian Gulf University in band 501-600.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University also entered the rankings for the first time, securing a joint second-highest place in the country in band 251-300 (alongside King Saud University), and the country’s King Khalid University continues its rapid growth, moving up to band 301-350 from band 501–600 last year.

Of the six UAE universities that were ranked last year, five showed growth this year.

Baty said the entry of two Arab universities into the top 200 was testament to radical improvements to higher education in those countries and the region, “especially with the backing of transformative plans namely Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and UAE’s Vision 2031”.

Asia

Universities in Chinese mainland have seen the biggest improvement over the past five years compared with the rest of the world, with an overall score of 43.8 in 2025 compared to 33.0 in 2020, according to THE.

In the 2021 edition of the THE world rankings, the US had 59 universities in the top 200, which has now dropped to 55. The UK’s decreased from 29 to 25 and Germany’s from 21 to 20.

China and Japan are the only countries to increase their representation in the top 200 by more than one during this period, by six and three respectively. China now has 13 and Japan has five.

At positions 12 and 13, mainland China universities have taken another step closer to a top 10 place in the rankings while more than 20 Chinese mainland universities improved their positions and 12 were ranked for the first time, bringing the total number of ranked universities in mainland China to 94, up from 86.

In addition to two universities in the top 20, mainland China has four in the top 50, seven in the top 100 and 13 in the top 200. By comparison, the 2018 edition of the THE rankings mainland China had just two top 100 institutions.

This year, while Tsinghua University retained the 12th spot, Peking University rose to 13th from 14th and Fudan University jumped from 44th to joint 36th place to become Chinese mainland’s third best institution and Zhejiang University entered the top 50 for the first time.

On average, mainland Chinese universities perform better than the rest of the world in all of THE World University Rankings’ 18 metrics except international co-authorship, international students and international staff.

Baty said THE data shows that mainland China is a “remarkable case study of exceptional consistent improvement backed by strong political will and a commitment of generous funding over many years. It is a science and research powerhouse with universities attracting the world’s talent”.

Hong Kong’s highest-ranked university, the University of Hong Kong, took 35th place and the Chinese University of Hong Kong joined the top 50 in 44th place, up from 53rd.

Despite stiff competition from China and other Asian countries and some domestic challenges, Japan saw some progress and earned the title of second most represented country with 119 universities ranked.

The highest ranked institution was the University of Tokyo at 28th place (up from 29), making it the highest ranking of any Japanese university in over a decade, while Kyoto University was at 55th.

Baty said looking beyond Japan’s top universities there was cause for concern in the fact that Japan faced “multiple challenges”, in particular, in the quality of its research and declining number of students.

He said THE’s data “shows significant action, including radical policy changes, are needed to ensure Japanese higher education improves over the coming years”.

A record 93 universities from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) featured in the 2025 edition of the rankings, up an impressive 116% from 43 in the 2020 edition.

Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS), the region’s highest-ranked university was placed at 17th in the world, up from 19th last year, while Nanyang Technological University, Singapore entered the world top-30 taking 30th place – also up two places from last year.

NUS President, Professor Tan Eng Chye said on the university’s website that NUS, which will be celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2025, is on a “strong and confident trajectory and remains focused in its mission to shape young minds and create positive outcomes for future generations.

“We are immensely proud that NUS has risen to 17th in the world, our highest position in THE World University Rankings. This achievement is the result of the relentless pursuit of excellence by the NUS community,” said Tan.

Baty said having two world top-30 universities was a “remarkable achievement” for Singapore and “testament to strong support for universities and R&D as fundamental to the success of the nation and the centering of human talent as Singapore’s greatest resource”.

Malaysia’s highest ranked university, Universiti Teknologi Petronas entered the top 250 for the first time, up from band 301-350 last year, while Vietnam’s UEH University also made an impressive debut into the 501–600 band, and Thailand had two top-800 universities.

With 31 institutions represented, Indonesia had the most ranked universities from the Asean and boasted the most newcomers with seven new universities ranked. The University of Indonesia, in band 801-1,000 (unchanged from last year), retained its number one position in Indonesia.

Malaysia had the second most ranked institutions with 23 and Thailand was third with 20.

South Korea also made steady gains despite demographic challenges with nine of the country’s 43 ranked universities (up from 39 last year) moving up the table while only four went down.

Seoul National University, the country’s highest ranked university, took joint-62nd place while Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), was the second highest in 82nd place, up from 83. Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), leapt up the table to joint 102, up from joint 145.

Baty said the South Korean government had set “extremely ambitious plans” to increase the number of international researchers, scientists and students at its universities to “address shrinking domestic enrolment in the country with the lowest birth rate in the world”.

With 107 ranked universities India is now third most-represented country in the THE World University Rankings, behind only the US (174) and Japan (119) and on a par with the UK.

The country saw the most significant increase in the number of ranked universities this year, with 16 institutions joining the table. This represents an increase of 18% compared with last year.

Among large countries (those with at least 50 ranked universities), India has seen the biggest improvement in research quality in the world this year. It also boasts the second biggest improvement in the world for its reputation for research among academics.

India’s highest ranked university is the Indian Institute of Science at band 251-300, a fall from last year’s position in band 201-250.

In Central Asia, Uzbekistan joined the rankings for the first time, represented by three universities, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanisation in band 601-800, National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek in band 1001-1200 and Tashkent University of Information Technologies in band 1500+.

Australasia

In a disappointing result, Australia’s top five universities fell down the rankings, with the highest ranked University of Melbourne slipping to 39th from 37th – its worst performance yet in the rankings – and the University of Queensland (Australia’s fifth highest ranked institution) suffering the biggest drop at the top of the rankings, falling seven places to 77.

Out of Australia’s 17 universities that fell this year (out of a total of 38 ranked), seven achieved their worst ever performance since the 2016 edition of the ranking.

This includes Australia’s second highest ranked institution, Monash University, which fell four places and the University of Sydney which returned its worst ever performance since the 2018 edition of the ranking.

Only four Australian universities improved their ranking positions: UNSW Sydney, 83rd up from 84th; Macquarie University, 178th up from 180th; Deakin University, in group 201-250 up from 251-300; and Federation University Australia, in group 401-500 up from 601-800. There was also one newcomer, the University of Notre Dame Australia in band 1,201-1,500.

According to a THE press release, Australia’s institutional income score declined this year as well as its reputation in teaching and research. It said the loss of international student revenue due to border closures during the pandemic and lockdowns are “seen as part of the reason for Australian universities’ decline”.

“Australian universities’ finances are struggling … In addition, Australia’s government intends to specify limits on international enrolments at each of the country’s 42 universities.

Universities most likely to be disadvantaged by the cap are the top-ranked Group of Eight (Go8) institutions – particularly its big Sydney and Melbourne members – and some second-tier universities that had banked on international education to fund their post-COVID recovery,” it said.

Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said: “It’s astounding we are in this position given the headwinds the sector is battling. Go8 universities still top Australia’s rankings with six in the global top 100, but the introduction of international student caps puts this and the nation’s economy at great risk.”

New Zealand suffered a similar disappointment with none of the country’s eight ranked universities improving this year, three declining and five staying the same. The flagship University of Auckland fell out of the top 150 to joint 152nd, while the University of Otago had its worst ever rankings performance, falling from band 301-350 to 351-400.

Europe

While many of Europe’s top 200 universities moved up the rankings, Europe’s status in the global higher education sector showed shrinkage as the continent’s universities were outperformed by those in Asia, the THE results show.

Europe now has only 91 of the world’s top 200 universities, down from 99 in 2019.

Within Europe, the best represented countries were nearly all in Western Europe. After the UK with 107 ranked universities, Italy and Spain have 55, France and Germany have 50.

On average, when comparing the top 10 European countries with the most ranked universities, Germany, UK and Italy have the best research quality scores on the continent.

The UK led the continent in international outlook, followed by France and Germany. France, Germany and Italy all beat the UK in industry score, reflecting stronger collaboration between their higher education sectors and businesses.

Declines were evident among two-thirds of Dutch universities and almost half of Switzerland’s 12 ranked universities, apart from the elite ETH Zurich and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne which both maintained their high ranks.

In a statement on its website, ETH Zurich said the THE rankings “clearly demonstrate that ETH’s excellence is primarily attributable to its research conditions and the quality of its research”.

The Netherlands dropped out of the top 50, including its top-ranked Delft University of Technology, which is now joint 56th from 48th.

A total of 10 institutions among France’s 50 ranked universities achieved their worst rank yet with 19 French universities dropping, including the top two institutions: Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris and Université Paris-Saclay.

Baty said while France overall had actually improved on most performance pillars this year, the sector’s research quality was declining relative to the rest of the world, “with millions of Euros cut from French universities’ research budget not boding well for the future”.

While the Technical University of Munich in Germany rose four places to 26th – the highest position yet for a German institution outside of Germany’s top five, several universities have declined.

Those showing improvement included Belgium and Sweden’s flagship universities – KU Leuven and Karolinska Institute – each rose up the top 50 (43rd and 49th respectively) while Denmark’s University of Copenhagen returned to the top 100 at 97th – its best performance in three years.

Sweden now has five universities in the top 200 and 13 ranked in total, seven of which improved their position from last year and three falling. This represents an improvement rate of 31% – the highest improvement rate of all nations in the rankings with at least 10 ranked institutions, according to THE’s analysis.

Finland also showed improvement with two universities in the top 200 for the first time since 2020, with the University of Helsinki moving up 14 places from last year to a joint 107th spot, while Italy and Spain each had three top 200 universities, and Ireland, Norway and Austria each had a university in the top 150.

In another improved performance, Poland had 40 higher education institutions ranked, up from 37 last year.

Italy’s University of Bologna, country’s highest-ranked university, entered the world top 150 for the first time, at joint 146th, up nine places from last year while Spain’s University of Barcelona, also the country’s highest-ranked, rose to joint 149th, up three places on last year.

Baty said while it was “great to see so many of Europe’s top 200 universities move up” the rankings, European universities “should be in no doubt that competition in the ranking is increasing year-on-year and this is coming from Asia with universities from Chinese mainland and South Korea, in particular, rapidly moving up the table … European universities need to work even harder if they want to retain their position in the higher echelons of our ranking.”

Latin America

Brazil rejoined the top 200 for the first time in 12 years as the University of São Paulo was placed joint 199th (up from band 201-250 last year) – the top spot for the entire Latin American region which saw a record 155 universities make the 2025 edition, up from 144 last year and 101 in the 2020 edition.

Elsewhere in the region, Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey remained in band 601–800, Chile’s Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile was placed in band 501–600, down on the 401-500 band it achieved last year.

Argentina’s highest ranked university, Austral University, was in band 1,001–1,200, while UEES, Espiritu Santo University entered the ranking for the first time in band 601–800.

Colombia’s highest ranked universities, Icesi University, University of la Costa and University of the Andes, Colombia were all placed in band 1001–1200, along with Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru.

Paraguay’s Universidad Nacional de Asunción was placed in band 1501+.

North America

The US had 23 universities in the top 50, 38 in the top 100, up from 36 last year, and it has 55 in the top 200 – more than any other country. However, its top-200 number dropped slightly from 2021 when the US had 59 universities in the top 200.

Also falling is the global reputation of US universities, which this year is at a record low. In THE’s 2016 reputation survey, US universities received 47% of the votes (for teaching and research combined), this has dropped sharply to 38% this year – the steepest long-term decline of any country.

THE analysis suggests while the number of ranked universities in the top 100 has increased slightly, there appears to be a “hollowing out” of the next tier – the global 101-200 where there were only 17 US universities, the lowest number ever.

Among the large countries (with 50 or more ranked universities in both 2024 and 2025) the US recorded the third worst decline in average research quality score.

An analysis of the US universities that ranked 101-200 last year shows that these universities suffer drops in research productivity, as well as three out of the four research quality metrics: citation impact, research strength, and research excellence.

When it comes to individual institutions, MIT’s rise and Stanford University’s decline is framed as evidence of an intensification of East vs West coast rivalry.

“MIT leads the way for the East coast with Harvard and Princeton universities following suit. Harvard is 3rd up from 4th, and Princeton jumps to 4th place from 6th.

“Meanwhile, there are signs of stagnation on the West coast as Stanford University falls from its previous top US position of 2nd place down to 6th and California Institute of Technology stays in the same position at number seven,” according to the THE press release.

Baty said: “With US universities dominating the top 10 there is intense competition with the country's elite institutions jockeying for position with relatively significant rises and falls in the top ten. Most notable was Stanford’s relatively dramatic drop this year and on the flip side is Princeton’s continued rise over several years – two to definitely watch.”

Princeton has shown continuous growth climbing five positions in the past five years and the University of California, Berkeley – also in the top 10 – moved up from 9th last year to 8th this year.

Three other US institutions achieved their best performance since the 2016 edition. They included the University of Massachusetts which entered the top 100 for the first time coming joint 84th up from joint 123rd last year; the University of California, Irvine at joint 90th up from joint 92nd; and the University of Rochester which was at 127th up from 133rd.

Meanwhile, Canada’s elite universities held steady in the ranking, although more than two-fifths of the country’s institutions declined owing to global competition.

Canada has three universities in the top 50 and eight in the top 200.

The University of Toronto, the country’s highest-ranked institution, remained at 21st place (it’s second consecutive year outside the global top 20), while the University of British Columbia was still 41st and McGill University rose four places to 45th.

However, of the 33 Canadian universities ranked this year, all of them – except McGill and the University of Victoria – either fell (14 went down) or stayed in the same position as last year (two are new entrants this year). All Canadian universities ranked between 100 and 200 dropped places since last year.

McMaster University, which was just outside the top 100 last year in joint 103rd, fell 13 places this year to joint 116th, and the year before it dropped 18 places from 85th. Also, in joint 116th this year is the University of Alberta, which fell seven places from joint 109th last year.

The University of Ottawa, which dropped 40 places in the 2024 edition, has dropped 14 places this year from joint 177th last year to joint 191st this year.

Baty said the continued fall of a significant number of Canadian universities was a “cause for concern”.

“Alongside the existing downward pressure on ranking positions amid growing global competition comes the introduction of restrictions and caps on the number of international students which is driving a significant drop in international student recruitment,” he said.

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Africa, which took eight of the top 10 spots among Sub-Saharan African universities has experienced a difficult year in the rankings as seven of its 14 ranked institutions dropped down the table.

The country’s leading university, University of Cape Town, remained in the top 200 but fell to joint 180th from 167th last year. Five of its universities hold their positions, but none improved. However, South Africa does have two newcomers to the rankings, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in band 1201-1500 and University of Fort Hare in band 1501+.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa there were a record 54 universities ranked from 15 countries, with Covenant University in Nigeria ranked in band 801–1,000, Ghana’s University of Cape Coast in band 801–1,000 and the University of Mauritius, Jimma University in Ethiopia and Makerere University, Uganda’s highest-ranked university, all in the 1,201–1,500 band.

All data for this article was supplied by THE.