The best universities in the world are Chinese; UNAM, in position 101

On a global scale and measured exclusively by their scientific research, 19 of the top 30 universities in the world are Chinese, according to a ranking published by the Center for Science and Technology Studies in Leiden, the Netherlands.

These are the data provided by the most recent CWTS Leiden Ranking, an international classification of universities that measures their performance exclusively from scientific research and is based on the number of academic publications and scientific citations, without reputation surveys or subjective parameters.

In the 2025 edition, the school of higher education with the highest score is Zhejiang University, in second place is Shanghai Jiao Tong, and in third place is Harvard, from the United States. From fourth to ninth place there are only Chinese universities: Sichuan, Central South, Huazhong Science and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Xi’an Jiaotong and Tsinghua University.

It is up to tenth position where there is again a school outside the Asian giant, which is the University of Toronto, in Canada.

The formal version of the list presents indicators such as the number of articles published, how many times they are cited and what proportion of these works have a high academic impact. In simple terms, it shows which universities produce the most research and how influential it is from measurable evidence.

The 2025 edition evaluates the articles, research and the impact of the work of these universities between 2020 and 2023.

The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) appears in position 101.

Within the first 150 positions, in South America, UNAM is only accompanied by the University of Sao Paulo, in 17th place.

The results of the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2025 reflect China’s growing weight in global scientific production, driven by a sustained investment strategy in research and development over the recent two decades.

By being based solely on measurable indicators of academic impact, the classification shows a rearrangement of the world university map, in which Asian institutions are gaining ground compared to study houses from the United States and Europe.