Explore theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 below. Trusted worldwide by students, academics, governments and industry experts, the list of the best universities in the world includes 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and territories.

University rankings 2026: highlights

• Oxford retains the number one spot for the tenth consecutive year, driven by strong research environment score
• Princetonrises to joint third place, and is the only US university to achieve its best-ever finish this year
• China has five universities in top 40, up from three last year, but top universities remain steady
• Hong Kong occupies a record six spots in the top 200 as a result of improvements in teaching metrics
• Indianow has the second highest number of ranked universities for the first time, behind only the US