The best universities across the region revealed
LONDON, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global higher education experts QS Quacquarelli Symonds have released the QS Arab University Rankings 2027.
It evaluates 325 universities across 20 locations in the Arab Region. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have three top-10 institutions each, while Qatar, Lebanon, Oman and Jordan each have one.
|
2027 |
2026 |
||
|
1 |
1 |
KFUPM |
Saudi Arabia |
|
2 |
3 |
Khalifa University |
UAE |
|
3 |
2 |
Qatar University |
Qatar |
|
4 |
4 |
King Saud University |
Saudi Arabia |
|
5 |
5 |
United Arab Emirates University |
UAE |
|
6 |
6 |
AUB |
Lebanon |
|
7 |
8 |
Sultan Qaboos University |
Oman |
|
8 |
7 |
KAU |
Saudi Arabia |
|
9 |
11 |
Abu Dhabi University |
UAE |
|
10 |
10 |
University of Jordan |
Jordan |
Dr Ashwin Fernandes, VP – Strategic and International Engagement, QS, said: “The QS Arab University Rankings 2027 show excellence is spreading well beyond a handful of higher education systems. Saudi Arabia and the UAE continue to set the pace at the top, but some of the strongest momentum this year comes from further afield: Morocco now has two universities in the top 100, Oman’s private universities are climbing quickly, and Palestine achieves its highest-ranked university ever.”
Highlights
- Saudi Arabia has 11 universities in the top-50. KFUPM ranks first for Employer Reputation, KAU for Academic Reputation, and King Saud University for both International Research Network and Web Impact.
- UAE has 11 universities in the top-50. UAE institutions rank top for International Faculty and International Students.
- Qatar: HBKU climbs six places to 23rd and ranks first for Faculty Student Ratio and Papers per Faculty.
- Egypt has 44 ranked universities, 15 in the top-100 and seven in the top-50. The American University in Cairo is top at 14th & Cairo University rises to 19th.
- Jordan University of Science & Technology ranks 16th and Al-Ahliyya Amman University rises to 26th.
- Lebanon now has two universities in the top-20.
- Seven of Oman’s 13 ranked universities improve.
- Morocco sees two universities enter the top-100, Tunisia now has three universities in the top-100 and Bahrain has four.
- Al-Quds University rises seven places to 45th, the highest position ever for a Palestinian university.
- The American University of the Middle East is Kuwait’s highest-ranked at 22nd
- The University of Baghdad is Iraq’s highest entry at 35th.
- Algeria is the most represented system in the rankings, with 50 universities.
Click here for the full analysis:Regional_D.1.3_Arab_Region_2027
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