Five Hong Kong universities secured positions in the top 100 of the 2026 QS World University Rankings released on Thursday, with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) rising to 11th globally — the highest place obtained by a Chinese university in the ranking’s history.

Climbing six places year-on-year, HKU also holds the second-highest ranking among Asian universities on the list, second only to 8th-ranked National University of Singapore (NUS), followed by the Nanyang Technological University in 12th place, Peking University (14th), and Tsinghua University (17th).

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) rose four places to 32nd, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) climbed three places to 44th, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) advanced to 54th from 57th. City University of Hong Kong (CityU) drops one place to 63rd.

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Hong Kong Baptist University (BU) jumped from 252nd to 244th, and Lingnan University progressed from the 711-720 band last year to the 701-710 range.

The Education University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Metropolitan University made their debuts in the ranking, securing their places at 530th and in the 781-790 band, respectively.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been consistently ranked first worldwide since QS launched in 2012. Imperial College London and Stanford University were ranked second and third in the 2026 ranking.

Organized by the UK-based higher education research firm Quacquarelli Symonds, this year’s QS ranking marked the largest-ever assessment scope which covered over 1,500 universities across 106 jurisdictions.

Hong Kong universities also performed strongly in other global rankings this year. In the Times Higher Education World University Impact Rankings published on Wednesday, HKUST became the highest-ranking Chinese university by securing the 19th place worldwide. PolyU climbed from 77th to 56th this year, and BU moved from the 101-200 band to 69th.

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Also on Tuesday, CUHK obtained 37th place in the global university ranking issued by U.S. News & World Report, topping all local universities, followed by HKU in 44th place and CityU in 54th.

Contact the writer at stephyzhang@chinadailyhk.com