THE Rankings 2026: All eight HK universities rise

Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities have all secured places in the top 350 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, with five institutions once again making it into the global top 100.

The city now holds a record six spots in the top 200, making it the only territory in Asia and worldwide where all ranked universities improved on last year’s performance.

The University of Hong Kong retained its position as the city’s highest-ranked institution, climbing two places to 33rd globally.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong reached a historic high of 41st, while the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology rose to 58th.

City University of Hong Kong achieved its best-ever result at 75th, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University advanced to 83rd, marking its fifth consecutive year in the top 100.

HKU President Zhang Xiang said the result reflected the dedication of the entire university community and its mission to advance teaching, research and knowledge exchange.

CUHK President Dennis Lo called the 41st-place finish the school’s best result to date and a milestone that affirmed its leadership in global higher education. 

HKUST said its rise to 58th underscored its commitment to innovation and international collaboration. 

CityUHK highlighted its top global ranking in “Industry” and first place in Hong Kong for “International Outlook.” 

PolyU said its continued presence in the top 100 demonstrated its global impact in research, teaching and knowledge transfer.

This year’s list included 2,191 universities from 115 countries and regions.

Globally, the University of Oxford remained in first place, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Princeton University and the University of Cambridge tied for third, while Harvard University and Stanford University shared fifth place.

Across Asia, 929 universities from 36 countries and regions were ranked.

Mainland China placed five institutions in the continent’s top 10, led by Tsinghua University at 12th worldwide for the third consecutive year and Peking University at 13th for the second year running.

The National University of Singapore held steady at 17th, while the University of Tokyo rose two places to 26th.