BEIRUT — Dozens of universities in the Middle East and North Africa region were featured in a global university ranking released this week, with nine of them making it to the top 300 universities worldwide. 

The 2024 edition of the QS World University Rankings ranked 1,500 universities in 104 locations around the globe based on various metrics including employability, sustainability and international research networking.

In the Middle East and North Africa region, 121 universities from 18 countries featured in the ranking, with nine universities making it into the top 300 institutions. While Saudi Arabia dominated the list with three universities, institutions from Israel, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also made their way to the top 300. 

The list of the universities in the Middle East and North Africa region in the top 300 and their global rankings are as follows:

143. King Abdulaziz University (Saudi Arabia)

173. Qatar University (Qatar)

180. King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (Saudi Arabia)

203. King Saud University (Saudi Arabia)

215. Tel Aviv University (Israel)

226. American University of Beirut (Lebanon)

230. Khalifa University (UAE)

251. Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)

290. United Arab Emirates University (UAE)

In Turkey, 25 universities made it on the list. The Middle East Technical University in Ankara came in 336th place, followed by Istanbul Technical University in 404th place and Koc University in Istanbul in 431st place.

Seven universities from Iran were featured in the list, four of which made it to the top 500.

Israel had six universities ranked this year, including Tel Aviv University, which ranked 215th, followed by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 251st place.

Another 15 universities from Egypt and 11 from the United Arab Emirates made the top 500. Cairo University ranked 371st, jumping from 551st out of 560 universities featured in last year’s ranking.

In a press statement, Cairo University President Mohamed Othman el-Khosht praised the university for its progress despite the challenges it faces as a public institution that serves a large student body.

Jordan and Lebanon also ranked high with nine and eight universities, respectively, featured on the list.

Other schools including one Moroccan, two Sudanese, four Tunisian, three Bahraini, five Iraqi, three Kuwaiti, one Omani, three in the Palestinian territories, two Qatari and one Syria university made it to the list.

According to the index, the world’s top three universities are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which has been named the top university for its 12th consecutive year, followed by the University of Cambridge. The University of Oxford ranked third, moving up from fourth place last year.