Shanghai ranking 2026: China has overtaken the United States in number of universities in the top 500

China has become the country with the most universities in the top 500 of the Shanghai ranking (116), published on 15/08/2026, edging ahead of the United States (111). They are followed by Germany and the United Kingdom, tied for third place (35), and Australia in fifth place (23).

China is also the country that has seen the greatest increase in the number of universities entering the top 500 in 2026 (13). However, US universities continue to dominate the top of the ranking, with eight institutions in the global top 10 and 14 in the top 20.

Europe dominates the ranking with 178 institutions represented in the top 500. Asia (161) and North America (128) are also strongly represented. Conversely, institutions from Oceania (25), South America (4) and Africa (4) are few and far behind.

Four countries, in addition to China, have seen an increase in the number of institutions featured in the ranking: Spain (2) and Saudi Arabia (1), as well as Greece and Lithuania, which gained their first institution in 2026.

Globally, Harvard University and Stanford University have topped the rankings since…