The WUR 2026 Supplement
An Introduction: QS World University Rankings 2026
The QS World University Rankings 2026 features more than 1,500 institutions from over 100 different locations around the globe.
By Sam Duke, Rankings Specialist, QS, and Dr Ludovic Highman, Strategic Rankings Consultant and Secretary to the QS Global Rankings Advisory Board
"2024 and 2025 have seen increased instability in international student flows around the world arising from policy changes in some of the biggest destinations."
The 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings is the latest iteration of more than two decades of guiding students to their ideal study destination.
In that time period, while the rankings have steadily evolved, the underlying principles have remained the same – to act as a reliable guide to the indicators that students find most useful when comparing universities at home or abroad.
This includes their reputation among academic and employers, their commitment to and the impact of their research, the ratio of teaching staff to students, both domestic and international, and their commitment to sustainability initiatives as expressed through the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The latest edition of the rankings sees 1,501 institutions make the cut from 106 different locations around the globe, including institutions from three locations that did not feature in the 2025 edition. The 2026 rankings also welcome 112 new institutions.
The Relevancy of Rankings in an Uncertain World
2024 and 2025 have seen increased instability in international student flows around the world arising from policy changes in some of the biggest destinations.
In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada in particular, a toughening stance on international student numbers and/or visa restrictions has led to disruption to universities’ ability to attract the numbers of international candidates they have been used to.
Other related issues, such as uncertainty around the security student visas offer, and the ability to stay on and seek work in their study destination after graduation, have also contributed to a landscape of increasing uncertainty.
In this context, the ability for students to make informed decisions about not only the institution but also the location they choose to study in becomes even more important.
Indicators such as International Student Ratio, International Faculty Ratio and the new - but unweighted - International Student Diversity, all provide an insight into the environment into which an individual may step and whether they will have a suitable support network, both in terms of a peer group of other international students, but also from the teaching and support staff.

The Rise of Asia
A clear trend in the rankings this year is the steady rise of institutions in Asia, both in terms of numbers and upward trajectory.
Eastern Asia is second only to Northern America in terms of ranked institutions, with over 200, and China is the location with the third highest total globally at 72. At city level, Seoul continues to host the most ranked institutions globally with 20, while Beijing comes second with 18.
Further south, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand all saw more than 50 percent of their total ranked institutions improve their rank, with individual institutions achieving milestones.
These include Malaysia’s Sunway University achieving the biggest upward ranking move, and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Universitas Indonesia, National Tsing Hua University, and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University all breaking into the top 200.
Previously, this upward movement in the region has been driven in large part by the research indicators, however Asian universities are increasingly challenging Western institutions in the international student market.
Hong Kong is perhaps the most notable example, where several institutions were among the biggest improvers in International Student Ratio, and the location boasts five institutions in the overall top 100.
In China, Academic Reputation is also becoming an increasingly strong factor in ranking improvement. Peking University remains the leading Chinese institution in this indicator in 14th position, but there is an overall upward trend from Chinese universities in the top 500.
It comes as no surprise that these institutions have also performed strongly in Citations per Faculty, demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between impactful research and domestic and global recognition through the Academic Reputation indicator.
Among the top ten locations with the most ranked institutions, India’s performance is also impressive with 41 percent of its institutions moving up and, notably, only 20 percent moving down. It also has the most new entrants to the rankings with eight.
STEM Strength
Another notable trend is the improvement among technological universities and universities with a strong STEM focus, demonstrating the high value societies place on these disciplines and subject areas. This also translates into increasing Employer Reputation scores, as employers seek skilled graduates.
Some key examples near the top of the ranking include Nanyang Technological University rising three places to 12h, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and TU Munich jumping four and six places respectively to joint 22, and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology climbing to 41 and 44 respectively.

A Middle East Moment
We can also see impressive performance from Middle Eastern universities, where improvements in Citations per Faculty, Employer Reputation and Sustainability have been a common trend.
The UAE has the third highest percentage of upward moves globally, and notably all of those moves were by five places of more. It can also claim two of the top five largest upward moves globally.
In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals is the most improved institution in the top 100, while King Saud University is the most improved institution in the top 200. 32 percent of the country’s institutions moved up by five places or more.