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China dominates in the Times Higher Education 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings 2025

• China leads the rankings, retaining first and second place
• Five of the top 10 spots held by Chinese institutions
• Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong retain top 10 places
• China¡¯s excellence initiative programme makes an impact
• Four newly ranked countries: Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Mongolia and Syria
• 853 universities ranked from 35 countries/territories, up from 739 universities from 31 countries/territories last year
• The most comprehensive and balanced assessment of 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ¡¯s research universities

China¡¯s standout performance in the Times Higher Education (THE) 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings 2025 reveals the full extent of the success of the country¡¯s excellence initiative for the first time.

Mainland China leads the rankings once again with Tsinghua 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ in first place for the seventh year running, while Peking 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ also retains its number two spot. China takes five of the top 10 spots with Fudan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ and Zhejiang 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ each moving up one place to seventh and eighth respectively. Shanghai Jiao Tong 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ remains in the top 10 but drops three spots to 10th.

Institutions from Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong make up the rest of the top 10, with very little movement at the top from the 2024 rankings.

Top 10 universities overall in the THE 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings 2025?

If you reproduce any part of these ranking tables or charts, please attribute it to ¡°Times Higher Education 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings 2025¡±, and link to the full list on our website.

THE¡¯s data analysis has been able to quantify the remarkable success of China¡¯s Double First-Class programme ¨C its higher education excellence initiative ¨C after a change to the rankings methodology in 2024 that allows the rankings to better reflect research performance. China¡¯s consistent combination of strategic direction and high levels of funding has led to 25 institutions in mainland China producing their best-ever performance and 28 improving their positions since last year.

Meanwhile, South Korea¡¯s Sungkyunkwan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ (SKKU) is back in the top 20, achieving its best performance since 2022, at joint 19th. Jordan and Kuwait have both rejoined the top 200. Jordan fell out of this group last year, while Kuwait features there for the first time since 2018.?

Nine countries have new national number ones: Turkey, Bangladesh (joint), Jordan, Vietnam, Lebanon, Philippines (joint), Sri Lanka (joint), Kuwait and Nepal (joint).

In total 853 universities are ranked from 35 countries/territories, up from 739 universities and 31 countries/territories last year. Japan is the most represented nation with 119 institutions ranked, followed by India with 107 and China with 94. Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Mongolia and Syria are newly ranked this year.?

Phil Baty, THE¡¯s chief global affairs officer, said: ¡°China¡¯s exceptional progress to cement its position as one of the world¡¯s leading nations for higher education and research is once again illustrated clearly by the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings. Across 18 balanced and comprehensive performance indicators, China¡¯s universities shine out as true stars. Times Higher Education¡¯s rankings are about providing actionable, data-driven insights and this year we have been able to demonstrate the exceptional success of the Chinese government¡¯s policies to support excellence in higher education ¨C notably and most recently, the Double First-Class programme.

¡°Overall, we can see 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn higher education and research characterised by a wonderful diversity of excellence, with strong results in the East, in Singapore, South Korea and Japan in particular, and with growing visibility and success in the rankings for South-east 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn nations too, notably Malaysia. In South 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, we are very encouraged to see strongly growing participation in the rankings, demonstrating a willingness to embrace international performance benchmarks to support progress.¡±

Regional/country highlights

Mainland China: 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn giant¡¯s strength continues to grow

Mainland China dominates the THE 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings 2025 with Tsinghua 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ in first place for the seventh year, five top 10 spots and improvement from almost one-third of its 94 ranked universities.

Twenty-five institutions in mainland China have had their best-ever performance and 28 have improved their positions since last year. China is the third most represented country in the rankings with 94 universities ranked, following Japan and India with 119 and 107 respectively.

China¡¯s impressive performance can be in part attributed to its higher education excellence initiative, the Double First-Class initiative. Thanks to a change in THE¡¯s 2024 methodology that allows the rankings to better reflect research performance, this year, THE¡¯s data analysis has been able to quantify the remarkable success of the scheme for the first time.

New analysis from the 2025 edition of the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ rankings reveals how Double First-Class universities have been improving at a much faster rate than the rest of China¡¯s institutions, whereas before 2023 they were all improving at a similar rate.?

Billy Wong, °Õ±á·¡¡¯s principal data scientist, said: ¡°The gap between the two groups was fairly consistent up to 2022, but by 2024 it almost doubled.¡±

China is also reaping the rewards of its commitment to funding. Data from the rankings shows that Tsinghua¡¯s research income per academic staff member was $955,000 (?756,000) in 2022. In comparison, South Korea¡¯s Seoul National 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ received $762,000, while Singapore¡¯s National 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Singapore received $735,000.?

Meanwhile, in terms of points in this year¡¯s ranking, Hong Kong, Israel and United Arab Emirates have higher average scores than China (when only examining territories with at least five ranked universities). But China is top among large countries with 49.5, while South Korea is second.

Hong Kong: all six universities now in top 50

Hong Kong demonstrates a strong performance in the 2025 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings with two top 10 institutions ¨C 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Hong Kong holds its place at number six, and The Chinese 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Hong Kong moves up one place to ninth.

Hong Kong has six universities ranked and all now fall as Hong Kong Baptist 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ jumps up to 50th place from 63rd last year.

City 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Hong Kong is the only university not to hold its ranking or improve, dropping just one place to number 16.

South Korea: four leading universities feature in top 20

South Korea has . Seoul National 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ in 15th place (down from 14th) is South Korea¡¯s best-ranked institution, followed by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) at number 17 (up from 18) and then Sungkyunkwan 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ (SKKU) and Yonsei 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ (Seoul campus) in joint 19th place (previously 22 and 17 respectively).

South Korea is represented by 43 institutions in total and has four newly ranked universities this year ¨C the highest ranked among these is Gachon 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ in joint 146th place.

South Korea performs well in point scores with a high average of 48.5, the second-highest average for a large country, just behind China. Meanwhile, Konkuk 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ achieves its best-ever performance and joins the top 100 in 93rd place.

India: overall performance is slipping

India impresses in terms of representation but is a mixed bag when it comes to results. Overall, the nation has 107 institutions ranked, making it the second highest for representation behind Japan with 119.

India, like China, launched its own excellence initiative, the Institutes of Eminence (IoE) scheme in 2018, but it does not appear to have had a big impact on the country¡¯s ranking results.

Overall, 14 Indian universities improved their position in this year¡¯s 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ ranking, while 34 performed worse. The country¡¯s best-performing university was the Indian Institute of Science, which came in at joint 38th, down from 32nd last year. Of the five IoEs included in THE¡¯s rankings, two dropped down the table this year compared with 2024, two remained in the same position and one improved (Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, now ranked in the 201-250 band).

India has 24 newly ranked institutions this year.

Indonesia: seven new entrants

The 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Indonesia is Indonesia¡¯s top-performing university, in band 201-250. In total, the country has 31 universities ranked and seven newly ranked institutions this year. Indonesia has a relatively low average point score at 24.

Malaysia: Universiti Teknologi Petronas joins top 50

Malaysia¡¯s best institution, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, has joined the top 50 with a best-ever performance at joint 43rd, up from joint 52nd last year. Malaysia has 23 universities ranked in total. Management & Science 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ (MSU) is newly ranked this year and appears in band 401-500.

Thailand: top institution declines

Chulalongkorn 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ is Thailand¡¯s best performer, in joint 132nd place, down from 117. Overall, Thailand is represented by 20 universities in the rankings.

Turkey: big rise in participation

Turkey has seen a significant rise in its number of institutions represented, with 91 universities ranked this year, up from 75 last year. Middle East Technical 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ is its best performer and the country¡¯s new number one, in joint 72nd place, down from joint 69th. Last year, the same university shared Turkey¡¯s top spot with Ko? 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, but this year Ko? 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ has slipped down to 79th.

While six of Turkey¡¯s institutions move up in the rankings, including two institutions achieving their best-ever performance ¨C Sel?uk 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ in band 301-350 and In?n¨¹ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ in band 501-600 ¨C 33 institutions slip down in the rankings, and 36 remain the same. Turkey has 16 newly ranked institutions this year.

Pakistan: seven new universities

Pakistan has seven newly ranked universities this year, an impressive rise that brings the country¡¯s total to 47. Quaid-i-Azam 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ is Pakistan¡¯s highest-ranked university, at joint 137th, down from joint 121st.

THE 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings 2025 country summary

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If you reproduce any part of these ranking tables or charts, please attribute it to ¡°Times Higher Education?51¹ú²úÊÓƵ 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings 2025¡±, and link to the full list on our website.

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