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Saudi Arabia has triumphed in a snapshot ranking released on Thursday: the top universities in the Arab world.

Three of the top five universities were in Saudi Arabia, while Morocco and Egypt also secured three spots each in the top 15.

The ranking is an initial release before consultation with the sector to determine how best to evaluate the region.

Although none of the featured universities achieves a position higher than the top 300 in the overall World 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ Rankings, the two best universities in the Arab World – American 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Beirut in Lebanon – achieved high scores for their international outlook.

The American 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Sharjah, both in the United Arab Emirates, achieved high enough scores for international outlook to also make it into the top 15 of a recent World’s Most International Universities ranking.

At the top of that ranking, and at position six in the Arab world snapshot, is Qatar 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ. Its extremely high international score is based on proportions of international students, staff and collaborations – unsurprisingly high in a country where only 13 per cent of the population are Qatari nationals.

In addition to some high international scores, the ranking also includes impressive scores for industry income. Both King Fahd 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia earn higher than average income from industry.

See the full top 15 here.

Top 5 universities in the Arab World