QS World University Rankings 2018 Released: Top Arab Universities

QS released the 2018 World University Rankings at an unfamiliar time of the year but the hype is no different. The rankings feature 959 universities from 84 countries, 31 of which have universities in the top 200.

The rankings list the first 400 universities individually. The next 400 are grouped together in bands of 10, while beyond 800, universities are listed alphabetically since, according to QS, the available data would not produce reliable rankings.

Twelve Arab countries were represented in the latest rankings by 33 institutions with King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) making the elite top-200 list for the second year in a row, at the 173rd position.

King Saud University (221) came in second in the Arab region followed by the American University of Beirut (235) at the third position.

Other Universities that made the top-400 list include King Abdul Aziz University (267), Qatar University (349), United Arab Emirates University (390), and the American University of Cairo (395).

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) made the list this year in a specialist category as it does not qualify for the main rankings which is restricted to multi-faculty universities.

KAUST was the best Arab university in terms of citations per faculty member. Globally, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) claimed the top rank in terms of citations count.

At the national level, Saudi Arabia led the pack with a total of eight ranked universities with all top four universities climbing in the rankings. It was followed by United Arab Emirates (6), Egypt (5), Lebanon (3), Bahrain (2), Iraq (2), and Jordan (2). Only one university made the rankings from Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, and Qatar.


Top Arab Universities per Country

Country Ranked Universities Top University Top Rank
Saudi Arabia 8 King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) 173
Lebanon 3 American University of Beirut (AUB) 235
Qatar 1 Qatar University 349
United Arab Emirates 6 United Arab Emirates University 390
Egypt 5 American University in Cairo 395
Bahrain 2 Arabian Gulf University 411-420
Oman 1 Sultan Qaboos University 451-460
Iraq 2 University of Baghdad 501-550
Jordan 2 University of Jordan 551-600
Kuwait 1 Kuwait University 651-700
Morocco 1 Université Mohammed V de Rabat 801-1000
Palestine 1 Birzeit University 801-1000