QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026

A Swedish University crowned World's Best, Asia ascends and UK Shines as US drops 

LONDON, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- QS Quacquarelli Symonds, global higher education experts, have released the 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability.

Lund University in Sweden has taken the top spot for the first time. University of Toronto drops to second place, followed by UCL up to third. 

This year, 2000+ universities are featured across 106 higher education systems.
The US is most represented (240 universities), followed by China (163), the UK (109), India (103) and France (76).

Ben Sowter, QS Senior VP, said, "The publication of the QS Sustainability Rankings arrives at a pivotal moment. With only 17% of the 169 global Sustainable Development Goals on track for delivery in 2030, the need for accelerated action on environmental and social challenges has never been clearer."

Overview

• University of California, Berkeley (11^th ), remains top in the US. NYU joins the top-20.
  
  
• The UK has the most institutions in the top 10, top 50, and top 200.
  
  
• Canada has the world's highest concentration of top-10 universities (7%)
  
  
• UNSW Sydney re-enters the top-10 (7^th). Four Australian universities are in the top-20.
  
  
• Université Paris-Saclay  (45^th) is the only French university among the top-50.
  
  
• Germany boasts 65 ranked universities, led by Universität Hamburg (46^th)
  
  
• Delft University of Technology (35^th) is the Dutch leader
  
  
• 58 Spanish universities are featured in this edition, led by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (83^rd)
  
  
• Seoul National University (37^th) becomes Asia's top-performer, overtaking The University of Tokyo (48^th).
  
  
• China adds more institutions than any other system - 49 new entries—nearly double its closest competitor, India (+26). Fudan University is the highest ranked (140^th).
  
  
• IIT Delhi remains India's best performing institution (205^th).
  
  
• National University of Singapore (69^th) and Nanyang Technological University (99^th) are tied in first for Environmental Research
  
  
• Universidade de São Paulo is the only Latin American university in the top-200 (90^th).
  
  
• South Africa boasts all four of Africa's top-ranked universities. University of Cape Town leads (59^th)
  
  
• American University of Beirut retains highest rank in the Arab Region (176^th)

The complete rankings are available here. 

 

source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds