Universities in developing countries ‘improving faster’

Browse the THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2021 results

Universities in emerging economies are improving at a faster rate than those in the rest of the world, driven largely by their progress on citation impact and reputation, according to an analysis of Times Higher Education rankings data.

An analysis of the 1,049 universities that have featured in the past four editions of the THE World University Rankings finds that institutions’ average score has increased overall but it has risen more significantly for universities in developing countries. The average score for universities in emerging economies increased by 4.3 to 28.6 between 2018 and 2021, an 18 per cent increase, while the average score for universities outside emerging economies rose by just 2.0 to 43.9, a 5 per cent increase.

When exploring this score change at a subject level, the data show that Emerging universities have improved most rapidly in clinical and health subjects, with their average score in this subject rising by 24 per cent over the four-year period, against a decline of 2.2 per cent for other institutions, according to the analysis from THE’s data team, which was presented at the THE Southern Africa Impact Forum.

Meanwhile, a metric-level analysis shows that Emerging universities have seen the biggest gains in field-weighted citation impact, teaching reputation and research reputation. For example, the citation score for emerging universities increased by 29 per cent, compared with just 3 per cent for other institutions.

The list of emerging economies includes those nations classified by the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE Group as “advanced emerging”, “secondary emerging” or “frontier”.

Download a free copy of the Emerging Economies University Rankings 2021 digital supplement

Jamil Salmi, a global tertiary education expert, said that there could be several reasons why emerging universities were improving faster.

“First, in many cases there is a strong national will to improve the performance of their universities, translating into additional resources for selected universities. Second, in several cases these investments are long-term, China being the best example,” he said.

Dr Salmi, who was tertiary education coordinator at the World Bank between 2006 and 2012, added that his research in this field suggests that “it is easier to achieve high levels of performance when you start a university from scratch, with high ambitions and resource levels, than when you try to transform existing ones through excellence initiatives, especially when governments fail to address issues of governance”.

A separate analysis of the THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2021, which were published on 9 March, reveal that institutions in the “secondary emerging” category had seen the most improvement over the past year. Of the 258 institutions in this group that were included in the 2020 and 2021 Emerging table, 55 per cent improved or maintained their previous ranking positions, largely driven by China and Pakistan.

China is the most represented country in the 2021 ranking, with 91 institutions, and home to the top five universities in the table.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com