China is on the verge of a historic breakthrough into the world’s top 10 universities, according to one of the world’s leading rankings.

Two Chinese universities now sit just outside the top 10 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with their highest-ranked entry now at 12th.

This represents a notable increase for a country that six years ago had just two representatives in the top 100 and a top ranking of 27.

Oxford maintains the top spot in the rankings for a record eighth year, topping a top 10 that shows little change from last year.

And while the United States continues to dominate the top end of the rankings, the overall picture is one of continued long-term decline.

But it is the long-awaited rise of China’s universities that represents the big story of this year’s rankings, truly marking their arrival on the world stage.

Tsinghua University rises from 16th to 12th place, closely followed by Peking University which rises from 17th to 14th, according to THE, one of the three most influential and cited university rankings.

The latest versions of the other two, the QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, have their highest Chinese entries at 17th and 22nd, respectively.

“Mainland China is a remarkable case study of exceptional and consistent improvement, backed by strong political will and a commitment to generous funding over the past decades,” according to Phil Baty, director of global affairs at THE.

“Mainland China now has world-class universities that can rival any in the world.”

China had only four universities in the top 200 in THE’s first rankings in 2004, but 20 years later it has 13, six in the top 60 and two on the verge of breaking into the top 10.

This surprising increase has come about thanks to the official policy of making China an “education major” and a two-decade investment in education and research and development by the Chinese government, Mr. Baty said.

And at the current rate, mainland China would be home to one of the world’s top 10 universities in the coming years, he added.

This would break the dominance of US and UK universities in the rankings, which have previously been remarkably resilient over the 20 years THE has compiled them.

Further down the rankings but still in the top 100, Shanghai Jiao Tong University made impressive gains, moving from 52nd to 43rd, Fudan University moved from 51st to 44th, and Zhejiang University, which rose from 67th to 43rd. 55th place.

Asia is now the most represented continent overall, with 737 of the 1,904 entries. Hong Kong has one of the largest concentrations of top-tier universities, with five in the top 100, while Taiwan has 10 in the top 600.

Overall, Oxford maintains the number one position, although there has been some jockeying for position among the rest of the top 10 in this year’s ranking, compiled using 18 indicators across five thematic areas: teaching, research environment, quality of research, international perspective and industry. .

This year’s top 10, with last year’s rankings in parentheses, are:

1. (1) University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
2. (3) Stanford University (USA)
3. (5) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
4. (2) Harvard University (USA)
5. (3) University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
6. (7) Princeton University (USA)
7. (6) California Institute of Technology (USA)
8. (10) Imperial College London (United Kingdom)
9. (8) University of California, Berkeley (USA)
10. (9) Yale University (USA)

“I am absolutely delighted that Oxford has once again been named the best university in the world,” said Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

“Eight years leading the Times Higher Education world rankings is a testament to the impact of research that addresses some of the big challenges facing people and the planet and the exceptional standards of teaching that will continue to inspire generations to come,” he added.

While the UK maintains the top spot and has three impressive universities in the top 10, the underlying data shows it is losing ground relative to the rest of the world, with the global academic reputation of its universities in steady decline since 2016, according to Mr. Baty.

The UK has the third-highest number of universities in the ranking, behind only the United States and Japan, but has three fewer entries in the top 200 than in last year’s ranking.

While the UK’s universities remain one of its greatest assets, this year’s rankings suggested its status as a global scientific superpower was at risk, particularly in the face of competition from East Asia, Baty said.

“The UK’s standing among academics around the world, although still very high, is in constant decline, which may have worrying consequences for future partnerships, investments and collaborations,” he said.

“The UK is also losing ground to its competitors, including in research income and productivity and attracting international student talent.”

The United States has maintained its hold on the top end of the rankings, but its overall position has declined compared to other education systems.

While the average ranking of universities in China, Australia and Canada has improved, in the US it has fallen from 296 in 2019 to 348.

This is partly a result of falling research funding levels compared to other countries: the United States ranks 20th out of 28 countries with 10 or more universities in ranking research income as a proportion of total income.

“The dominance of American universities, while still powerful, is declining over time and is increasingly being challenged by East Asian universities, particularly those in China, which continue to make spectacular progress,” said Mr. .Baty.

The data also showed a growing disparity between elite American universities (the top 25%) and the rest.

“This raises challenging questions about unequal access to the best college education across the United States and the implications for social mobility and economic disparities between regions of the United States,” he added.