Universities across the Western Balkans continue to face challenges in competing with leading global institutions, with the latest Global 2000 ranking by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) showing a mixed picture for the region.
No university from North Macedonia was included in the 2026 Global 2000 list, marking the second consecutive year that the country’s higher education institutions failed to secure a place among the world’s top-ranked universities.
The highest-ranked university in the Western Balkans was the University of Belgrade, which placed 393rd globally. The University of Ljubljana followed it in 444th place, and the University of Zagreb in 522nd.
Serbia had the strongest representation in the region, with additional entries including the University of Novi Sad, the University of Kragujevac, and the University of Niš.
Croatia also ranked the University of Split 953rd and the University of Rijeka 1,658th. Slovenia’s University of Maribor ranked 1,293rd globally.
The absence of universities from North Macedonia reflects broader concerns over research output, international competitiveness, and academic visibility. Education advocates argue that neighboring countries have invested more consistently in research, innovation, and international partnerships, helping their universities improve their global standing.
Globally, the ranking was led by Harvard University, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford.
The United States accounted for eight of the world’s top ten universities and 313 institutions in the Global 2000 ranking. China led by total representation of 360 universities on the list, followed by Japan with 102, the United Kingdom with 89, France with 71, Germany with 69, and Russia with 42.
CWUR evaluated 21,291 universities worldwide and ranked only the top 2,000. The methodology is based on four indicators: quality of education (25%), graduate employability (25%), faculty quality (10%), and research performance (40%).
Unlike some international rankings, CWUR does not rely on surveys or data submitted by universities. Instead, it uses independent indicators, including research publications, citations, influence, and academic output.
The latest results underscore the widening gap between Western Balkan universities and leading European institutions, while also highlighting significant differences within the region itself, where Serbian, Slovenian, and Croatian universities continue to outperform their counterparts elsewhere in the Western Balkans.