Hong Kong’s academic sector scored a major victory as five universities from the city now rank among Asia’s top 10, according to the latest major educational ranking table.
Educators and analysts said this achievement affirms the city’s status as the region’s premier study destination, and they expect a growing influx of nonlocal students and talent.
The ascent was led by the University of Hong Kong (HKU), which reclaimed, for the first time in 15 years, the top spot in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2026, released on Tuesday by the United Kingdom-based education information firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
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HKU President Zhang Xiang described the ranking as a reaffirmation of the university’s academic prowess and its “pivotal role in shaping global higher education”.
He pledged to further sharpen HKU’s edge as a “global nexus of knowledge”, positioning it at the forefront of AI-driven education and research.
Zhang emphasized the university’s commitment to bridging East and West, fast-tracking the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s emergence as an international innovation hub, and contributing to the nation’s high-quality growth through scientific and educational excellence.
HKU’s return to the top after a multiyear gap headlined a collective showing, with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology leaping five spots to seize sixth place, overtaking local counterparts the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and City University of Hong Kong, which are now tied at seventh. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University climbed from 17th to 10th.
Hong Kong Baptist University made a notable jump to 53rd place, up from 71st last year. The Education University of Hong Kong and Lingnan University also rose, to 152nd and 181st place respectively.
CUHK reported achieving perfect scores in key indicators such as academic reputation, inbound exchange students, and international faculty ratio. The university said it remains steadfast in its core objective to pursue excellence in research, teaching, and innovation for the benefit of Hong Kong and beyond.
QS said Hong Kong reigned as the most improved higher education system in Asia among the 25 ranked for 2026, attributing the result to outstanding performance across key metrics.
According to QS, Hong Kong led the region with the highest average score for academic reputation and trailed only Singapore for employer reputation. The city also demonstrated notable strength in international faculty and inbound exchange students.
This year’s edition expanded to a record 1,526 institutions across the region, including 557 new entrants.
Ian Tsang, a veteran Hong Kong education consultant, linked the ranking surges to the SAR government’s intensified efforts to boost international student enrollment and to the universities’ strategic hiring of international faculty — key aspects directly reflected in QS evaluation criteria.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s latest Policy Address raised the nonlocal undergraduate enrollment cap to the equivalent of 50 percent of local incoming students, effective from the 2026-27 academic year.
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Tsang predicts this momentum will continue, attracting more nonlocal applications, particularly from other parts of Asia, as universities ramp up overseas recruitment campaigns, such as road shows.
While supporting the government’s push to cultivate an international academic matrix within the city, Tsang cautioned that growth in nonlocal students must be managed carefully through expanded teaching and housing capacity to avoid crowding out local applicants.
This year’s Asia rankings also saw Peking University in Beijing positioned in the second spot, while the National University of Singapore and that country’s Nanyang Technological University were both listed third. Fudan University in Shanghai took fifth, and Beijing’s Tsinghua University ranked ninth.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
