The performance of Asia’s top universities has stalled for the first time in 14 years in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, while the US continues to decline even before the effects of the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education show up in the data.
While there are widespread strong results across many parts of Asia in the THE World University Rankings 2026 – which is topped by the UK’s University of Oxford for a record 10th consecutive year – the region’s leading universities are stagnant. Tsinghua University has stalled at 12th place for the third year in a row, Peking University has moved up just one place during that time and is now 13th for the second consecutive year, and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has also failed to improve on last year’s 17th position. The number of Chinese universities in the top 200 is also steady, at 13 universities for the third year in a row.
This stability is in marked contrast to the trajectory of Asia’s top universities in the decade leading up to the 2024 edition of the rankings, during which time Tsinghua moved up 35 places, Peking 28 places and NUS seven places. This year marks the first time since the 2012 edition that none of the three institutions has improved its rank.
However, below this elite tier, the familiar trend of East and South-east Asia’s rise continues.
World University Rankings 2026: top 10
| 2026 rank | 2025 rank | Institution | Country/region |
| 1 | 1 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom |
| 2 | 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | United States |
| =3 | 4 | Princeton University | United States |
| =3 | 5 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom |
| =5 | 3 | Harvard University | United States |
| =5 | 6 | Stanford University | United States |
| 7 | 7 | California Institute of Technology | United States |
| 8 | 9 | Imperial College London | United Kingdom |
| 9 | 8 | University of California, Berkeley | United States |
| 10 | 10 | Yale University | United States |
Who made the top 100? View the complete 2026 university rankings
Hong Kong occupies a record six spots in the top 200 as a result of improvements in teaching reputation and its student-to-staff ratio, and all six of its institutions that were ranked both this year and last year have improved. South Korea rises significantly in all four research quality metrics and now has a record four institutions in the top 100. And the University of Tokyo climbs to 26th, its highest-ever position – although Japan’s representation at the top of the rankings has dipped slightly, with only 4 per cent of its providers improving their position on last year.
In contrast, 21 per cent of Chinese universities have moved up the table this year and the country’s average score increased by a whole point. It now has five universities in the top 40, up from three last year, and 35 in the top 500 – which is more than Australia. A total of 18 Chinese institutions achieved their best rank ever, more than any other nation.
Experts have debated when China might reach the top 10 in rankings – according to China scholar Denis Simon, the question has never been could Chinese universities enter this elite club but rather when – but the latest rankings results suggest that crossing this threshold is not straightforward.