The University of Hong Kong has been named as the Most International University in the world in a new Times Higher Education ranking, with four other Word 100 Reputation Network members making the top 20.

The ranking uses the international metrics collected for the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, including reputation scores and metrics covering international students, staff, and co-authorship.

Hong Kong U has very high proportions of international staff and students and has been developing a branding position as Asia’s Global University.

Other World 100 members performing strongly in the ranking include National University of Singapore (10th place), King’s College London (13), UCL (14), Chinese University of Hong Kong (18) and LSE (19).

Most international universities 2023 World 100 member performance

The performance of universities in Hong Kong and the UK is particularly noticeable, with 11 of the top 20 institutions based in those territories. US universities perform much less well than in the World University Rankings – MIT (36) is the highest placed.

Proportions of international staff and students are a key driver of the success of Hong Kong and UK universities. However, international reputation also features strongly in the methodology, making up 25% of the score.

The reputation metric is a measure of the proportion of votes from outside the home country that the institution achieved in THE’s Academic Reputation Survey, which asks leading scholars to name the world’s best universities for teaching and research in their field.

Only institutions that received at least 300 votes in the survey are included. Universities must also receive at least 150 or at least 10 per cent of available domestic votes to be ranked. Once universities are included in the international list, they are excluded only if they do not meet the vote thresholds for two years in a row.

World 100 members will have an opportunity to discuss global reputation and the performance of Hong Kong and other Asian universities when we host a special event alongside THE Asia Summit, hosted by Chinese University of Hong Kong in June 2023.