Universiti Teknologi Petronas, also known as UTP, climbed eight places to 35th, its highest position to date, sharing the rank with China’s Tianjin University.

Universiti Malaya, Malaysia’s oldest higher education institution, slipped one spot to 65th but remained the country’s second-highest ranked institution in the rankings.

In a broader uplift, six Malaysian universities made it into the top 100 – double last year’s total – out of 27 Malaysian institutions listed in the rankings.

Among the notable movers was Sunway University, which rose from 141st last year to joint 84th, while Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia improved to joint 87th from 103rd, and Universiti Sains Malaysia climbed to 100th from 103rd.

The 2026 list ranked 929 universities from 36 countries and territories, up from 853 institutions last year.

The rankings assess universities based on teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry income.