Despite major changes in the global academic landscape over the past two decades, the UK maintains a strong foothold in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2025, with Oxford University claiming the top spot for an impressive ninth year in a row.

The World University Rankings, first introduced 20 years ago, were initially launched as a UK initiative following a 2003 report by Richard Lambert. They were designed to evaluate government research funding and encourage competition among institutions. The debut rankings, published in 2004, saw Oxford and Cambridge in the top 10, along with a majority of U.S. institutions.

The 2025 rankings reveal a dynamic shift in global academia, with U.S. representation in the rankings decreasing from 31% in 2004 to just 8% today, while UK universities have declined from 15% to 5%. Notably, India now matches the UK with 107 ranked universities, China follows with 94, and Pakistan has 47.

Africa is on the rise, with Nigeria now having 21 ranked universities and Egypt with 35. Emerging institutions in countries like Bahrain and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have entered the rankings for the first time. Chinese institutions, like Tsinghua and Peking Universities, now rank 12th and 13th globally, while Hong Kong’s Chinese University holds 44th.

On the flip side, some Western countries are seeing declines; the Netherlands now has only four institutions in the top 200, and Australia has ten, down from twelve. The Middle East celebrates new achievements as well, with Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd University debuting at 176th and Abu Dhabi University in the UAE entering at 191st.