QS rankings 2026: NZ Unis all feature in the top 30 per cent

All of New Zealand’s universities feature in the top 30% of the 1,500+ institutions from the 106 countries and territories included in this latest ranking. Four of New Zealand’s eight higher education institutions have improved their ranking in the QS World University Rankings 2026.

NZ rankings are:

Stand-out achievements

• A reputation for academic excellence: Every institution improved its rank in the Academic Reputation indicator, while The University of Auckland, University of Otago, Massey University and University of Canterbury all improved their Citations Per Faculty While no NZ university features in the top 100 for Citations, The University of Auckland places 63^rd worldwide for Academic Reputation.
• Home of diverse learning experiences: Reflecting a post-pandemic recovery in international student demand, all but one institution improved its International Students Ratio, with three in the top 100 globally and improving on their performance last year. Namely, Auckland University of Technology rose three places to 39^th; Lincoln University improved 35 places to be ranked 53^rd; and Massey University moved up 25 spots to 71^st. That international attraction extends to academics, with all eight universities in the top 120 globally for the International Faculty metric, and six maintaining their place in the top 100. Among places with five or more universities in the ranking, only the UAE performs better in the International Faculty indicator with an average score of 100 (New Zealand’s average score is 99.9).
• Sustained sustainability: New Zealand remains highly regarded for its research and programmes related to sustainability, with three institutions maintaining their top 100 position globally for this indicator that measures environmental, social and governance factors. Of the 17 universities across Oceania that featured in the top 100, the University of Canterbury was one of only two to improve its rank, climbing a further eight places to be 78^th This is an indicator that has seen some significant improvements by a number of countries and overall, only Sweden has a higher average score (84.5) in this indicator. New Zealand’s average score of 82.5 reinforces this as a true strength of the sector.

Ben Sowter, Vice President of QS, said: “New Zealand is one of the few places on earth where all universities feature among the global top 500 in the 2026 QS World University Rankings. The breadth of excellence shown across the country’s eight universities is testament to the work of students, outstanding staff and brilliant research carried out across New Zealand. With the University of Otago returning to the top 200 for the first time since 2022, the country once again has two institutions ranked among the very top tier of universities worldwide.”

Global top 10

The global top 10 are:

The 2026 QS ranking information can be found here.