Saudi Arabia is leading in global higher education, according to a new league table published on Wednesday.
The state’s higher education institutions are paving the way for the Arab world, as King Abdulaziz University ranks in the top 100 list of best universities.
Times Higher Education released its World University Rankings 2023 results, showing that the UK’s University of Oxford retained its top spot for the seventh year in a row.
King Abdulaziz University has risen from 190 in 2022 to joint-101st in the 2023 table, making it the highest ranked university in the Middle East and the best ranking ever achieved by a Middle Eastern university in this table.
King Abdulaziz University is tied with the University of Basel, Switzerland for 101st place.
Top 10 Universities in the Arab World
Rank University
1 King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
2 King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia
3 Qatar University
4 King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
5 University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
6 United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
7 Abu Dhabi University, United Arab Emirates
8 Alfaisal University, Saudi Arabia
9 Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Saudi Arabia
10 American University of Beirut, Lebanon
“The data make it clear that Saudi Arabia is a rising star in global higher education and a symbol of excellence in the Arab world,” said Phil Bati, chief knowledge officer at Times Higher Education.
“Not only has King Abdulaziz University grown dramatically to lead the entire MENA region to be within a whisker of the world’s top 100, but other leading institutions have also made strong progress and are ranked among Saudi Arabia in the world rankings. The overall representation of the university has increased – from 15 universities ranked last year, to 21st this year.
“The data shows real improvements in research productivity, impact and the academic reputation of Saudi universities.
“It is clear that under Vision 2030, the state’s bold ambition to nurture and support world-leading universities to foster a new knowledge and innovation-based economy is being realized. The nation seems to be on a strong upward trajectory. ,
King Abdulaziz University’s number of publications increased by 24 per cent compared to last year. In the 2017-2021 period, 80 per cent of its total publications have at least one international co-author, almost twice the world average of 39.8 per cent.
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals rose from the 351-400 category last year and to be ranked in the top 201-250 universities worldwide.
In Emirates, the top two institutions move up the league table.
The University of Sharjah rose from 401-500 to 251-300 and the United Arab Emirates University from 351-400 to 251-300.
Abu Dhabi University is a new entry for the UAE this year and has been ranked among the best 301-350 universities across the world.
The UAE’s leading universities are rising up the World Rankings as part of an exciting and dynamic new renaissance for the Arab world, driving the transition to a new knowledge and innovation-based economy,” said Phil Baty.
“Of the six UAE universities included in the overall World Rankings, four are on the rise — led by the United Arab Emirates University and the University of Sharjah, which have both surged this year into the world top 300 list.
“They are closely followed by Abu Dhabi University, which entered the rankings this year straight into the world top 350.”Higher education institutions in Egypt also increased their overall representation to 26 universities, up from 23.In the current league table, 1,799 universities from 104 countries and regions have been included.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings provides an overview of a university’s quality on an analysis of 15.5 million research publications and 121 million citations of those publications, as well as more than 40,000 responses to the annual academic reputation survey and hundreds of thousands of additional data. Points covering the university’s learning environment, international outlook and industry links.
