Hong Kong dominates the top five positions in the QS Asia University Rankings 2027, with three institutions making the cut, while mainland China accounts for the remaining two. The University of Hong Kong has retained the top position for the second consecutive year, followed by Peking University at second. Tsinghua University has made the biggest jump among the top 10, climbing six places from ninth in 2026 to third this year.City University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong have also secured fourth and fifth positions, respectively, moving up from joint seventh last year.Also Read | 71% of Indian institutes slip in QS Asia 2027 rankings; weak repute, global reach to blameThe latest edition features more than 1,700 universities across 26 countries and territories, making it one of the largest regional assessments of higher education institutions. While Hong Kong has the highest representation in the top 10, mainland China has the largest overall presence in the rankings, with 448 institutions listed, including 53 new entrants. South Korea has also maintained a strong presence, with six universities featuring among the top 20 positions.QS Asia University Rankings 2027: Complete list of top 20The following table lists the universities occupying the top 20 positions in the QS Asia University Rankings 2027, alongside their previous year’s positions and locations. Since some institutions have tied scores, the list includes more than 20 universities.2027 RankName of University2026 RankWhere is it located?1The University of Hong Kong (HKU)1Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR2Peking University2Beijing, China3Tsinghua University9Beijing, China4City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)7Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR5The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)7Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR6 =Fudan University5Shanghai, China6 =National University of Singapore (NUS)3Singapore8Nanyang Technological University (NTU)3Singapore9 =The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)10Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR9 =The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)6Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR11Yonsei University11Seoul, South Korea12Korea University12Seoul, South Korea13Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU)13Shanghai, China14Zhejiang University (ZJU)14Hangzhou, China15 =Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)UnrankedDaejeon, South Korea15 =Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)16Seoul, South Korea16Seoul National University (SNU)17Seoul, South Korea17 =Nanjing University19Nanjing, China17 =Universiti Malaya (UM)15Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia19Hanyang University20Seoul, South Korea20 =Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)24Bangi, Malaysia20 =University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)21Hefei, ChinaSource: QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027Note that the ‘=’ symbol indicates that two or more institutions share the same ranking position.Story continues below this adSingapore’s two leading institutions, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), have, however, slipped in the latest rankings. NUS, which was placed third in 2026, is now at joint sixth, while NTU has moved from joint third to eighth. Meanwhile, City University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong have entered the top five, securing fourth and fifth positions, respectively.China, Singapore and South Korea: How universities performedAmong mainland Chinese institutions, Tsinghua University recorded the biggest improvement within the top 10, moving up six places to third. Peking University retained its second position, while Fudan University slipped from fifth to joint sixth. Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Zhejiang University retained their previous positions at 13th and 14th, respectively. Nanjing University improved from 19th to joint 17th, while USTC moved up one place to joint 20th.Also Read | No IIT, IISc in top 50 in QS Asia rankingsSouth Korea has six institutions in the top 20. Yonsei University remains the country’s highest-ranked institution at 11th, followed by Korea University at 12th. KAIST has re-entered the rankings at joint 15th after being unranked in the previous edition. Sungkyunkwan University has also improved from 16th to joint 15th, while Seoul National University and Hanyang University are placed 16th and 19th, respectively.Story continues below this adFor Singapore, both NUS and NTU have experienced a decline despite retaining positions among Asia’s leading universities. QS has noted that Singapore records the highest mean average scores across seven indicators among locations with at least five ranked institutions. These include employer reputation, citations per paper and international student ratio.The QS Asia rankings assess universities through 11 indicators, including academic reputation (30%), employer reputation (20%), faculty-student ratio (10%), international research network (10%) and citations per paper (10%). Other parameters include research output, staff qualifications, international faculty and student representation, and student exchange programmes.