China Surpasses the US in Global University Rankings
For the first time, China has overtaken the United States in the 2025 Global 2000 list published by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). The number of Chinese universities on the list rose from 324 to 346, representing 17 percent of the total. In contrast, the number of US institutions fell from 329 to 319.
Tsinghua University climbed six places to rank 37th, while Peking University reached 44th. The University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences rose to 46th place, surpassing Shanghai Jiao Tong and Zhejiang Universities. Other institutions in China’s top 10 included Fudan, Sun Yat-sen, Nanjing, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
CWUR President Nadim Mahassen attributed China’s progress to strong state-backed investment and improvements in research performance.
While the United States still holds eight of the world’s top 10 universities — including Harvard, MIT, and Stanford — 83 percent of its listed institutions have dropped in the rankings. Mahassen noted that cuts to public funding and debates over academic freedom have contributed to the decline.
The rankings were compiled using 74 million data points from 21,462 universities across 94 countries.
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