Best universities in the emerging economies: top 100 2022

The best universities in the THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2020

February 18 2020

Best universities in the emerging economies

Chinese universities dominate the Times Higher Education Emerging Economies Rankings 2020.

Out of more than 500 ranked universities, China took 81 places, with Tsinghua University claiming the top spot overall, followed by Peking University in second place. India was the second most-represented country, with 56 universities.

The ranking shines a spotlight on universities in 47 countries classed as emerging economies, including Brazil, India, Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

All the universities in the top 10 also appear in the top 200 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020.

The Emerging Economies Ranking uses the same 13 performance indicators as the World University Rankings, measuring teaching, research, research impact, industry income and international outlook, but the weightings are adjusted to reflect the specific characteristics of this group of universities. The full methodology can be found here.

Only institutions in countries in the FTSE Group’s Country Classification Process are eligible to be included in this ranking.

Best universities in the emerging economies 2020

1. Tsinghua University, China

Since 1911, Tsinghua University has aimed to bridge the gap between Chinese and Western cultures, sciences and humanities, and ancient and modern methods.

Although the university has particular strengths in science and technology, it conducts research and teaching across 14 schools and 56 departments, from management to art.

Its motto is “Self-discipline and social commitment”, and this is achieved through a focus on integrity and action.

2. Peking University, China

Peking University’s campus is known as “Yan Yuan” – the garden of Yan – and is located in a suburb of Beijing near the Summer Palace.

Many faculty members are members of prestigious research academies and direct groundbreaking research in China.

Peking’s students have the opportunity to study a diverse range of subjects, from humanities to applied sciences. There is also a significant focus on professional skills to provide students with the foundation to transition into careers.

Best universities from the emerging economies

Best universities in the Arab World
Best universities in Brazil
Best universities in Africa
Best universities in India
Best universities in Pakistan
Best universities in Taiwan
Best universities in China
Best universities in Malaysia
Best universities in Egypt
Best universities in Nigeria
Best universities in Mexico

3. Zhejiang University, China

Zhejiang University is part of the elite C9 group of universities in China. Founded in 1887, it is one of the oldest and most selective universities in the country.

The university has seven campuses across Hangzhou: Yuquan, Xixi, Haining International, Huajiachi, Zhijiang, Zijin’gang and Zhoushan.

The university has partnerships with more than 180 institutions from more than 30 countries worldwide, including Imperial College London, the University of Sydney and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

4. University of Science and Technology of China, China

The University of Science and Technology of China was established in 1958 to provide world-leading interdisciplinary education in science and technology.

It is located in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, south of Beijing.

Emphasis at the university has always been on the quality of research and teaching. Students receive a grounding in fundamental scientific theories before being immersed in emerging research and interdisciplinary fields of study.

5. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russian Federation

More than 40,000 postgraduate students and about 7,000 undergraduate students are enrolled at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

While it attracts some 4,000 students from outside Russia each year, the university also offers specialist distance courses for Chinese students to learn Russian.

Lomonosov Moscow State boasts four museums with a strong emphasis on natural sciences, and it boasts one of the largest library systems in Russia.

Student experience in the emerging economies

International perspective: a Filipino student in Hungary
International perspective: an American in the UAE
Five reasons why you should study in China
University life in: India
International perspective: an American student in China
International perspective: a Belarusian student in Lithuania
University life in: China
A day in the life of a student in Nigeria
A week in the life of a student in Brazil

Top 100 universities in the Emerging Economies Ranking 2020

Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2020 profile

Emerging Economies Rank 2020	World University Rank 2020	University	Country/Region
1	23	Tsinghua University	China
2	24	Peking University	China
3	=107	Zhejiang University	China
4	=80	University of Science and Technology of China	China
5	=189	Lomonosov Moscow State University	Russian Federation
6	=157	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
7	109	Fudan University	China
8	=120	National Taiwan University	Taiwan
9	=144	Nanjing University	China
10	=136	University of Cape Town	South Africa
11	=194	University of the Witwatersrand	South Africa
12	201–250	Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology	Russian Federation
13	201–250	King Abdulaziz University	Saudi Arabia
14	251–300	University of São Paulo	Brazil
15	351–400	Khalifa University	United Arab Emirates
16	301–350	Indian Institute of Science	India
17	301–350	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	China
18	251–300	HSE University	Russian Federation
19	351–400	Wuhan University	China
20	251–300	Alfaisal University	Saudi Arabia
21	401–500	Tongji University	China
22	301–350	University of Malaya	Malaysia
23	251–300	Sun Yat-sen University	China
=24	301–350	Beijing Normal University	China
=24	251–300	Stellenbosch University	South Africa
26	401–500	Harbin Institute of Technology	China
27	401–500	National Research Nuclear University MEPhI	Russian Federation
28	351–400	Taipei Medical University	Taiwan
29	351–400	National Tsing Hua University	Taiwan
30	301–350	Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)	China
31	301–350	United Arab Emirates University	United Arab Emirates
32	401–500	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	India
33	351–400	University of Iceland	Iceland
34	401–500	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay	India
35	401–500	ITMO University	Russian Federation
=36	401–500	Central South University	China
=36	301–350	University of Tartu	Estonia
=38	401–500	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	India
=38	401–500	Qatar University	Qatar
40	401–500	Sabancı University	Turkey
41	501–600	King Saud University	Saudi Arabia
42	501–600	National Chiao Tung University	Taiwan
43	501–600	Tianjin University	China
44	301–350	Cyprus University of Technology	Cyprus
45	601–800	National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)	Taiwan
46	351–400	Nankai University	China
=47	401–500	University of Cyprus	Cyprus
=47	301–350	Reykjavík University	Iceland
=49	501–600	South China University of Technology	China
=49	501–600	Southeast University	China
51	501–600	Beihang University	China
=52	501–600	National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech)	Taiwan
=52	501–600	Tomsk State University	Russian Federation
54	401–500	University of KwaZulu-Natal	South Africa
=55	501–600	University of Campinas	Brazil
=55	501–600	Koç University	Turkey
57	501–600	China Medical University, Taiwan	Taiwan
58	501–600	Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee	India
=59	351–400	University of Crete	Greece
=59	601–800	National Taiwan Normal University	Taiwan
61	351–400	Indian Institute of Technology Indore	India
62	501–600	Xi’an Jiaotong University	China
=63	601–800	Indian Institute of Technology Madras	India
=63	301–350	Indian Institute of Technology Ropar	India
=63	351–400	Jordan University of Science and Technology	Jordan
=66	601–800	Beijing Institute of Technology	China
=66	401–500	Charles University in Prague	Czech Republic
=66	501–600	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Saudi Arabia
=66	501–600	Pontifical Catholic University of Chile	Chile
=70	401–500	University of the Philippines	Philippines
=70	401–500	Semmelweis University	Hungary
72	501–600	Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University	Russian Federation
=73	501–600	Institute of Chemical Technology	India
=73	501–600	Renmin University of China	China
=75	501–600	Bilkent University	Turkey
=75	501–600	East China Normal University	China
77	601–800	Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur	India
78	601–800	Universiti Teknologi Petronas	Malaysia
=79	401–500	Hunan University	China
=79	601–800	Mahidol University	Thailand
=79	601–800	Northwestern Polytechnical University	China
=82	501–600	National and Kapodistrian University of Athens	Greece
=82	501–600	Novosibirsk State University	Russian Federation
84	501–600	Shenzhen University	China
85	401–500	Quaid-i-Azam University	Pakistan
86	601–800	Shandong University	China
87	401–500	Cankaya University	Turkey
88	601–800	Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)	Brazil
89	601–800	National University of Science and Technology (MISiS)	Russian Federation
90	601–800	Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham	India
=91	401–500	Covenant University	Nigeria
=91	501–600	National Yang-Ming University	Taiwan
=91	401–500	University of Peradeniya	Sri Lanka
=94	401–500	University of Desarrollo	Chile
=94	401–500	Diego Portales University	Chile
=94	501–600	King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences	Saudi Arabia
=97	401–500	Pontifical Javeriana University	Colombia
=97	501–600	Xiamen University	China
99	601–800	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	China
=100	601–800	Istanbul Technical University	Turkey
=100	601–800	Saint Petersburg State University	Russian Federation