In the QS World University Rankings 2026 released today (June 19), nine universities from Hong Kong made the list, with six institutions rising in rank and five entering the top 100, making Hong Kong the region with the highest concentration of world-class universities globally.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) delivered an outstanding performance, climbing six places to rank 11th worldwide - the highest position ever achieved by a university in Hong Kong. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) also achieved their highest rankings since participating in the evaluation, placing 32nd, 54th, and 244th, respectively. These results demonstrate Hong Kong's strong capabilities in establishing itself as an international education hub and further enhance the "Study in Hong Kong" brand.
Record-high scale for QS rankings
Hong Kong has consistently performed exceptionally well in recently released international university rankings, including the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings, Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, and now the latest QS rankings.
The 2026 QS World University Rankings set a new record in scale, covering over 1,500 universities from 106 countries and regions. The ranking evaluates institutions based on nine indicators with different weightings: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international research network, employment outcomes, and sustainability. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) maintained its top position for the 14th consecutive year, Imperial College London remained second, while Stanford University rose three places to third. Oxford University and Harvard University dropped one place to fourth and fifth, respectively.
Hong Kong's elite university density leads the world
According to the latest QS rankings, Hong Kong not only ties with mainland China in having the most top-100 universities (5) in Asia, but also boasts the highest concentration of elite universities globally, with an impressive 56% of its ranked institutions making the top 100. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's overall university improvement rate reached 71%, the highest in Asia and second globally.
Several Hong Kong universities achieved their highest historical rankings: HKU rose six places from 17th to 11th globally, coming within striking distance of the global top 10 and ranking second in Asia only to the National University of Singapore; CUHK improved four places from 36th to 32nd; PolyU moved up from 57th to 54th; and HKBU climbed eight places to 244th.
Lingnan soars, EdUHK and HKMU make debut
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) also rose from 47th to 44th, while Lingnan University made the most significant progress among Hong Kong institutions with a 10-place jump. Notably, the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) made its debut at 530th globally, and Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU), as Hong Kong's first applied sciences university, also entered the rankings for the first time.
Ben Sowter, QS Senior Vice President, stated that Hong Kong's higher education sector has become a standout in the global education system due to its outstanding performance in academic influence, research standards, and internationalization, achieving remarkable progress in this year's rankings, with over half of its institutions making the top 100.
He analyzed that while Hong Kong universities face financial pressures from reduced public funding, measures such as increasing non-local student enrollment have helped alleviate the challenges by boosting admission numbers. Looking ahead, he believes that aligning with the talent strategy of the "Study in Hong Kong" brand will further consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international talent hub and academic research center.
According to QS World University Rankings sub-indicator data, Hong Kong's academic reputation performs particularly well in internationalization. The international faculty ratio indicator scored 98.8 points, far exceeding the global average of 36.3, with six universities ranking in the global top 50. HKU, PolyU, and CUHK all showed improvement in this indicator, with CUHK making the biggest jump of eight places. In the international student ratio indicator, Hong Kong scored 94.7 overall, significantly higher than the global average of 33.3. Both scores fully demonstrate Hong Kong's advantageous position as an international education hub.
Employment outcomes relatively weak
Compared with last year's rankings, Hong Kong showed significant improvement in five indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, citations per faculty, and international student ratio. 86% of Hong Kong universities improved their rankings in citations per faculty, while 71% made progress in academic reputation, employer reputation and international student ratio indicators. However, Hong Kong institutions performed relatively poorly in international research networks and employment outcomes, with many ranked universities seeing declines in these indicators compared to last year, reflecting room for improvement in cross-border research collaboration and graduate employability.
In terms of individual university performance by indicator, CityU performed most prominently in citations per faculty, ranking second globally, just behind Harvard University; HKUST ranked 12th, giving Hong Kong two institutions in the global top 20 for this indicator.
QS also noted that among all nine indicators, CityU led Hong Kong institutions in four: faculty-to-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international student ratio; HKU ranked first in Hong Kong for academic reputation, employer reputation, employment outcomes and sustainability; while PolyU led in the remaining indicator of international research network.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: Mo Nan; English Editor: Darius)
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