Saudi Arabia Joins Top 50 In Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings 2025

Saudi Arabia leaps into the top 50 of the overall ranking of Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings 2025. Saudi Arabia’s top two universities have made impressive gains in the Impact Rankings. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals is in joint 25th place up from joint 81st, and King Faisal University is in 40th place, up from 99th.

Six universities from the Arab world are in the overall top 100; four universities in Saudi Arabia, one in Palestine and one in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

An-Najah National University in Palestine is in joint 82nd place, up from band 201-300, and Al Ain University in UAE is ranked joint 90th, up from joint 92nd.

Iraq is number one for SDG 7, and the most represented Arab country across all the tables with 92 universities ranked, followed by Algeria with 72 and Egypt with 52. Globally, Iraq is the fifth most represented country in the Impact Rankings. Overall, Arab world countries have 394 universities ranked from 20 countries.

Western Sydney University in Australia takes first place in the overall ranking for the fourth consecutive year, Manchester University in the United Kingdom retains second place and Kyungpook National University in South Korea is third overall and number one in Asia.

The University Impact Rankings, released this week at the Global Sustainable Development Congress in Istanbul, are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Universities are ranked across 18 tables: one overall ranking and 17 tables representing each individual SDG.

This year’s rankings are released 10 years after the creation of the SDGs and amid scepticism that the goals will be met by the target year of 2030. However, the data show that universities are highly focused on delivering on the sustainability agenda and demonstrating public impact.

Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, said: “The THE Impact Rankings are the world’s only rankings to explore universities’ contribution to each and every one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, across the full range of their activities: teaching, research, outreach and stewardship. And this comprehensive analysis clearly shows that universities worldwide are stepping up to help the world take on its most pressing grand challenges, from the climate crisis to delivering economic growth to supporting peace and justice across the world. This huge piece of research highlights the real-world impact that universities make, and their contribution to the public good.

“There are clear examples of excellence across the Arab world in these unique rankings, and it is particularly encouraging to see so many universities from the region taking part in these rankings and embracing the importance of their opportunity to deliver on the sustainability agenda.”