Eight HK unis ranked among Asia's top 100

Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities have all earned places among Asia’s top 100, with the Education University and Lingnan University making their debut appearances in the ranking.

According to the newly released Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2026, the mainland continues to dominate the region.

Tsinghua University has retained the top spot for the eighth consecutive year, while Peking University followed in second. Chinese institutions occupy five of the top 10 positions in the 2026 table.

The National University of Singapore took third place, while Nanyang Technological University and the University of Tokyo shared fourth.

Despite ongoing conflict, Iran managed to place three universities in the top 100. Its leading institution, Sharif University of Technology, reached joint 76th place.

Neighboring Macau celebrated a milestone as the University of Macau rose to 28th from 34th, entering the region’s top 30 for the first time.

Hong Kong continues to hold two universities in the overall top 10. The University of Hong Kong remains the city’s highest-ranked institution at sixth place, while the Chinese University slipped one spot to 10th.

The city’s representation has expanded overall, with eight universities ranked compared to six last year. The Education University debuted strongly at 37th, making it the second-highest new entrant, while Lingnan University secured 84th place.

Other Hong Kong institutions also recorded progress. Baptist University achieved the biggest leap, climbing 10 places from 50th to 40th, and City University advanced two spots to 14th.

HKBU described its performance as recognition of its efforts to strengthen teaching, learning, and research, pledging to continue using global rankings as a benchmark for improvement.

The University of Science and Technology and the Polytechnic University held steady at 12th and 18th, respectively.

Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, said this year’s rankings highlight China’s remarkable progress in higher education and research, reflected not only in its dominance at the top but also in the rising performance of its two SARs.