Pakistani university ranks among top 500 of World University Rankings 2025

ISLAMABAD: The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 have been released, featuring a record 2,000 institutions from 115 countries and territories, representing a 9.7% increase from last year.

Pakistan stands out with 47 ranked universities, tying with Taiwan as the 14th most-represented nation globally and 6th in Asia.

Quaid-i-Azam University leads Pakistan, maintaining its position in the 401-500 band. Eight Pakistani universities are ranked in the 601-800 band, including newcomer Sukkur IBA University and the University of Malakand, which jumped from the 801-1,000 range.

However, only seven Pakistani universities improved their rankings, while 10 declined.

Pakistani Universities Ranking

University	Rank 2025	Rank 2024
Quaid-i-Azam University	401–500	401–500
Air University	601–800	601–800
Capital University of Science and Technology	601–800	601–800
COMSATS University (ISLAMABAD)	601–800	601–800
Government College University Faisalabad	601–800	601–800
National University of Sciences and Technology	601–800	601–800
Sukkur IBA University	601–800	NR
University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila	601–800	601–800
University of Malakand	601–800	801–1000

Global Universities Ranking

Globally, the University of Oxford continues to hold the top position for a record nine consecutive years. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranks second, followed by Harvard University in third place.

University	Country	Rank 2025	Rank 2024
University of Oxford	United Kingdom	1	1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States	2	3
Harvard University	United States	3	4
Princeton University	United States	4	6
University of Cambridge	United Kingdom	5	5
Stanford University	United States	6	2
California Institute of Technology	United States	7	7
University of California, Berkeley	United States	8	9
Imperial College London	United Kingdom	9	8
Yale University	United States	10	10

Globally, Asian institutions dominate, with 853 universities from 35 countries. The rankings assess research-intensive universities across 18 performance indicators, covering teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and internationalization.

This year, 2,860 institutions submitted data, a 6.9% increase from last year. THE’s World University Rankings has expanded significantly since its inception, now covering over 2,000 institutions, making it the most comprehensive and inclusive global university ranking system.