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Best universities in the emerging economies: top 100

The best universities in the THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2021

    October 19 2021
    Best universities in the emerging economies

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    Chinese universities dominate the Times Higher Education Emerging Economies Rankings 2022.

    Out of more than 500 ranked universities, China takes 97 places, with Tsinghua University in second place. India was the second most represented country, with 71 universities.

    The ranking shines a spotlight on universities in 48 countries classed as emerging economies, including Brazil, India, Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

    All the universities in the top 10 also appear in the top 250 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022.

    The Emerging Economies Ranking uses the same 13 performance indicators as the World University Rankings, measuring teaching, research, research impact, industry income and international outlook, but the weightings are adjusted to reflect the specific characteristics of this group of universities. The full methodology can be found here.

    Only institutions in countries in the FTSE Group’s Country Classification Process are eligible to be included in this ranking.

    Best universities in the emerging economies 2022

    1. Peking University, China

    Peking University is a member of the C9 league, which is similar to the Ivy League in the US, and is generally one of the highest ranked institutions in China.

    The campus is known as “Yan Yuan” – the garden of Yan – and is located in a suburb of Beijing near the Summer Palace.

    Many of its academics are members of prestigious research academies and direct groundbreaking research in China.

    Peking’s students have the opportunity to study a diverse range of subjects, from humanities to applied sciences. There is also a significant focus on professional skills to provide students with the foundation to transition into careers.

    1. Tsinghua University, China

    Since 1911, Tsinghua University has aimed to bridge the gap between Chinese and Western culture, sciences and humanities, and ancient and modern knowledge.

    Although the institution has particular strengths in science and technology, it conducts research and teaching across 20 schools and 54 departments, from management to art.

    Many successful people in politics, academia and industry have graduated from Tsinghua University, including two Nobel prizewinners, physicists Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang.  


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    3. Zhejiang University, China

    Zhejiang University is part of China’s elite C9 group of universities. Founded in 1887, it is one of the oldest and most selective universities in the country.

    The university has seven campuses across Hangzhou: Yuquan, Xixi, Haining International, Huajiachi, Zhijiang, Zijin’gang and Zhoushan.

    The university has partnerships with more than 180 institutions from more than 30 countries worldwide, including University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

    4. Fudan University, China

    Fudan University has four campuses in downtown Shanghai: Handan, Fenglin, Zhangjiang and Jiangwan.

    The university takes a liberal arts approach to teaching, with a focus on developing students’ understanding of different cultures and independent research skills.

    Many of Fudan’s courses are taught in English and the university has developed partnerships with more than 200 institutions worldwide. Students at Fudan University are encouraged to take advantage of these partnerships and participate in a study abroad exchange.

    5. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

    Shanghai Jiao Tong University is a major research university in Shanghai. It is also one of the oldest universities in China, having been established in 1896. 

    The institution offers 67 undergraduate programmes across economics, law, literature, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, management and arts. It also offers a wide range of master’s and doctoral programmes. 

    The Shanghai Jiao Tong University Students’ Union provides a range of clubs and associations, and organises a variety of events throughout the year, such as on Halloween and New Year’s Eve.


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    Top 100 universities in the Emerging Economies Ranking 2022

    Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2022 profile

    Emerging Economies Rank 2022 World University Rank 2022 University Country/region
    1 =16 Peking University China
    2 =16 Tsinghua University China
    3 =75 Zhejiang University China
    4 60 Fudan University China
    5 84 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China
    6 =158 Lomonosov Moscow State University Russian Federation
    7 =88 University of Science and Technology of China China
    8 =105 Nanjing University China
    9 =113 National Taiwan University (NTU) Taiwan
    10 201–250 Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) Russian Federation
    11 157 Wuhan University China
    12 =162 Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) China
    13 181 Huazhong University of Science and Technology China
    14 =190 King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia
    15 251–300 University of the Witwatersrand South Africa
    =16 =183 University of Cape Town South Africa
    =16 201–250 Taipei Medical University Taiwan
    18 301–350 Indian Institute of Science India
    19 201–250 University of São Paulo Brazil
    20 301–350 Tongji University China
    21 351–400 Khalifa University United Arab Emirates
    22 251–300 Beijing Normal University China
    23 301–350 National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Taiwan
    24 251–300 Stellenbosch University South Africa
    25 301–350 Central South University China
    26 401–500 National Research Nuclear University MEPhI Russian Federation
    27 301–350 China Medical University, Taiwan Taiwan
    28 301–350 HSE University Russian Federation
    =29 301–350 East China Normal University China
    =29 351–400 King Saud University Saudi Arabia
    =29 251–300 Sun Yat-sen University China
    32 401–500 Tianjin University China
    =33 201–250 Alfaisal University Saudi Arabia
    =33 301–350 Qatar University Qatar
    =33 251–300 Semmelweis University Hungary
    =36 301–350 University of Malaya Malaysia
    =36 351–400 National Tsing Hua University Taiwan
    38 401–500 Sichuan University China
    39 251–300 University of Tartu Estonia
    40 351–400 King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Saudi Arabia
    41 301–350 Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University Russian Federation
    42 401–500 Xi’an Jiaotong University China
    43 351–400 United Arab Emirates University United Arab Emirates
    44 501–600 Sabancı University Turkey
    45 401–500 South China University of Technology China
    =46 501–600 Beihang University China
    =46 301–350 Nankai University China
    =48 401–500 University of Campinas Brazil
    =48 401–500 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Chile
    50 401–500 University of Iceland Iceland
    51 601–800 National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Taiwan
    =52 301–350 University of Cape Coast Ghana
    =52 501–600 Southeast University China
    54 501–600 Asia University , Taiwan Taiwan
    =55 501–600 Koç University Turkey
    =55 301–350 Reykjavík University Iceland
    57 351–400 University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa
    58 601–800 ITMO University Russian Federation
    59 351–400 Shenzhen University China
    60 501–600 Universiti Teknologi Petronas Malaysia
    61 401–500 University of Sharjah United Arab Emirates
    62 401–500 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Greece
    63 501–600 Northwestern Polytechnical University China
    =64 601–800 Beijing Institute of Technology China
    =64 401–500 University of Cyprus Cyprus
    =64 501–600 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China China
    67 601–800 National Taiwan Normal University Taiwan
    =68 351–400 University of Hail Saudi Arabia
    =68 601–800 Middle East Technical University Turkey
    =70 401–500 Southern Medical University China
    =70 601–800 Tomsk State University Russian Federation
    72 501–600 Harbin Institute of Technology China
    73 351–400 JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research India
    74 401–500 Xiamen University China
    =75 351–400 Harokopio University Greece
    =75 601–800 National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) Taiwan
    =75 401–500 Saint-Petersburg Mining University Russian Federation
    =78 501–600 Charles University in Prague Czech Republic
    =78 401–500 University of Crete Greece
    =78 401–500 Hunan University China
    81 601–800 Universiti Putra Malaysia Malaysia
    82 401–500 Ton Duc Thang University Vietnam
    83 601–800 Istanbul Technical University Turkey
    =84 401–500 Indian Institute of Technology Indore India
    =84 401–500 Jordan University of Science and Technology Jordan
    86 351–400 Indian Institute of Technology Ropar India
    87 601–800 Mahidol University Thailand
    88 601–800 National University of Science and Technology (MISiS) Russian Federation
    =89 401–500 Cankaya University Turkey
    =89 501–600 Cyprus University of Technology Cyprus
    91 601–800 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Malaysia
    =92 601–800 Chongqing University China
    =92 801–1000 Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) Brazil
    =94 401–500 An-Najah National University Palestine
    =94 601–800 China Agricultural University China
    =96 501–600 University of International Business and Economics China
    =96 501–600 North-West University South Africa
    =96 601–800 Soochow University China
    =96 401–500 University of Tabuk Saudi Arabia
    100 401–500 Durban University of Technology South Africa

    Read more: See the full Emerging Economies Ranking 2022 here


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