University of Oxford ranked the best in the world for 10th consecutive year
The rankings are based on millions of research papers and surveys
The University of Oxford has topped the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the tenth year in a row.
Oxford University leads a strong showing for the UK, with Cambridge and Imperial College London also making the global top ten.
The rankings are based on millions of research papers and surveys, with Oxford praised for its teaching reputation and research excellence.
Overall, 11 UK universities made it into Times Higher Education's (THE) top 100 worldwide.
The global university rankings have been produced annually since 2004, and are built on analysis of almost 19 million research papers, 1.5 million votes in a survey and data on more than 30,000 universities, THE said.
The rankings include factors such as teaching reputation, research reputation and strength, and institutional, research and industry income.
THE ranked 109 UK institutions out of the 2,191 total. Of these, 13 improved their positions, 64 retained their positions from 2025, and 28 dropped down the table.
Phil Baty, THE's chief global affairs officer, said: "This year's rankings highlight a dramatic and accelerating trend - the shift in the balance of power in research and higher education excellence from the long-established, dominant institutions of the West to rising stars of the East.
"The US and much of western Europe have suffered significant lost ground in the world rankings, while East Asian nations, led by China, continue to thrive and surge up the table.
"This clear trend is set to persist as research funding and international talent attraction continue to be stymied in the West."
Other than the three UK institutions, the rest of THE's global top 10 is made up entirely of US universities, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology taking second and Princeton University coming joint third with Cambridge. The US also dominates much of the top 30.