While the overall results showed the UK to be in decline worldwide, with Chinese university rankings up 96 percent, Cambridge and Oxford remain some of the best public universities in the world.
In total, 93 UK universities, led by the University of Cambridge, feature in the world rankings, but almost 60 per cent of UK institutions have fallen.
Cambridge University retained its place in fourth place, while Oxford remained in fifth place, with Harvard leading the world.
University College London moved up two places to 19th place, ahead of Imperial College London at 29th and King’s College London at 40th.
The results paint a mixed picture for the Russell Group of leading UK universities. Of the group’s 24 members, 14 ranked lower, including Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Queen Mary University of London, Newcastle, Warwick, York, Durham and St Andrews.
The top three positions are held by American universities, with Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford in first, second and third place.
You can also use our tool to compare global and national university rankings, as well as which universities have skyrocketed and which have fallen.
