77 Best Universities in Asia, Campus List, and Top Ranked Institutions

Asian varsities have long remained global hubs for learners seeking quality education in the continent. These campuses are making an increasingly strong impact on global research, technology, and academic excellence. We look at some of the outstanding universities in Asia.

Reviewed are giant institutions in various countries including China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

77 Best universities in Asia ranked

The institutions discussed are those consistently ranking among the best worldwide, therefore, attracting students and faculty from all corners of the globe.

Which is the best university in Asia?

1. Peking University

Peking University is a prestigious higher learning centre in Haidian, Beijing, China.

CountryChina
Founded1898
Telephone+861062751234
Websitehttps://www.pku.edu.cn
Email[email protected]

It is funded by the Ministry of Education of China with C9 League membership.

2. Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University is a preferred public university in Haidian, Beijing, China.

CountryChina
Founded1911
Telephone+861062783100
Websitehttp://tsinghua.edu.cn/
Email[email protected]

The institution is renowned for its fully funded opportunities for international students seeking master’s qualifications.

3. National University of Singapore (NUS)

The National University of Singapore is a merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University.

CountrySingapore
Founded1980
Telephone+6565166666
Websitehttps://nus.edu.sg
Email[email protected]

Established in 1980, the campus sits on 370 acres of land.

4. Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

The Nanyang Technological University is a reputable public research university in Singapore.

CountrySingapore
Founded 1981
Telephone+65 6790 6000
Websitehttps://www.ntu.edu.sg
Email[email protected]

Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country.

5. Fudan University

Fudan University is a national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, China.

CountryChina
Founded1905
Telephone+86216564 0000
Websitehttps://www.fudan.edu.cn
Email[email protected]

It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal Government.

6. University of Hong Kong (HKU)

The University of Hong Kong is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong.

CountryHong Kong
Founded1987
Telephone+85239177111
Websitehttps://www.hku.hk
Email[email protected]

The institution was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of Hong Kong in 1911.

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And now, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong.

7. Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong.

CountryHong Kong
Founded1963
Telephone+85239437000
Websitehttps://www.cuhk.edu.hk
Email[email protected]

Established in 1963 as a federation of three colleges; Chung Chi College, New Asia College, and United College.

Elsewhere, it is Hong Kong’s second-oldest university, with the first being the University of Hong Kong.

8. City University of Hong Kong (CityU)

The City University of Hong Kong is a public research university in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

CountryHong Kong
Founded1984
Telephone+85234427654
Websitehttps://www.cityu.edu.hk
Email[email protected]

It was founded in 1984 as the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and formally established as the City University of Hong Kong in 1994.

9. Zhejiang University

Zhejiang University is a public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

CountryChina
Founded1897
Telephone+86 571 8795 0000
Websitehttps://www.zju.edu.cn
Email[email protected]

The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and Double First-Class Construction

10. University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan.

CountryJapan
Founded1877
Telephone+81358411212
Websitehttps://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Email[email protected]

Founded in 1877 as the nation’s first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernization era institutions.

Its direct precursors include the Tenmongata, founded in 1684, and the Shōheizaka Institute.

11. Kyoto University

Kyoto University, or KyotoU, is a national research university in Kyoto, Japan.

CountryJapan
Founded1897
Telephone+81 75 753 7531
Websitehttps://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Email[email protected]

Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan.

12. Seoul National University

The Seoul National University is a public research university in Seoul, South Korea.

CountrySouth Korea
Founded1946
Telephone+82 2 880 5114
Websitehttps://en.snu.ac.kr
Email[email protected]

It is one of the SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university’s main campus is located in Gwanak.

Its two campuses are located in Daehangno and Pyeongchang.

13. Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)

KAIST is a national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea.

CountrySouth Korea
Founded1971
Telephone+82423503615
Websitehttps://www.kaist.ac.kr
Email[email protected]

KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation’s first public, research-oriented science and engineering institution.

14. Universiti Malaya (UM)

The Universiti Malaya is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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CountryMalaysia
Founded1905
Telephone+60379671234
Websitehttps://www.um.edu.my
Email[email protected]

It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in newly independent Malaya.

15. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi)

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is one of the Twenty Three IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development.

CountryIndia
Founded1961
Telephone+91112659 7135
Websitehttps://home.iitd.ac.in
Email[email protected]

Established in 1961, it was formally inaugurated in August 1961 by the Minister of Scientific Research & Cultural Affairs. 

Full list of universities in Asia

  1. Airlangga University
  2. Amirkabir University of Technology
  3. Ateneo de Manila University
  4. Banaras Hindu University (BHU)
  5. Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
  6. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
  7. Beijing Normal University
  8. Boğaziçi University
  9. Chiang Mai University
  10. Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
  11. Chulalongkorn University
  12. City University of Hong Kong (CityU)
  13. De La Salle University
  14. Diponegoro University
  15. Gadjah Mada University (UGM)
  16. Hanyang University
  17. Harbin Institute of Technology
  18. Hokkaido University
  19. Hong Kong Baptist University
  20. Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  21. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
  22. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
  23. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)
  24. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)
  25. Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK)
  26. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITKGP)
  27. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM)
  28. Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR)
  29. Istanbul Technical University
  30. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
  31. Kasetsart University
  32. Keio University
  33. Khalifa University
  34. King Abdulaziz University
  35. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
  36. King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
  37. King Saud University
  38. Koç University
  39. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
  40. Korea University
  41. Kyoto University
  42. Kyushu University
  43. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
  44. Mahidol University
  45. Middle East Technical University
  46. Nagoya University
  47. Nanjing University
  48. Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
  49. National Central University
  50. National Cheng Kung University
  51. National Chiao Tung University
  52. National Taiwan University (NTU)
  53. National Tsing Hua University
  54. National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST)
  55. National University of Singapore (NUS)
  56. Nazarbayev University
  57. Osaka University
  58. Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)
  59. Quaid-i-Azam University
  60. Renmin University of China
  61. Sabancı University
  62. Seoul National University (SNU)
  63. Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  64. Sharif University of Technology
  65. Singapore Management University (SMU)
  66. Sun Yat-sen University
  67. Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
  68. Taylor’s University
  69. Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
  70. Tianjin University
  71. Tohoku University
  72. Tokyo Institute of Technology
  73. Tongji University
  74. UCSI University
  75. Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)
  76. United Arab Emirates University
  77. Universitas Indonesia
  78. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
  79. Universiti Malaya (UM)
  80. Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
  81. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
  82. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
  83. University of Colombo
  84. University of Delhi
  85. University of Dhaka
  86. University of Hong Kong (HKU)
  87. University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
  88. University of Tehran
  89. University of the Philippines (UP)
  90. University of Tokyo
  91. Vietnam National University, Hanoi
  92. Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City
  93. Waseda University
  94. Wuhan University
  95. Xiamen University
  96. Yonsei University
  97. Zhejiang University

There are even more campuses in Australia, Africa, Europe, South America, and North America.

The number of higher learning institutions continues to rise with greater demand for scientific breakthroughs.

Top universities across countries in Asia

NoCountryCapitalPop
1AfghanistanKabul41m
2ArmeniaYerevan3m
3AzerbaijanBaku10m
4BahrainManama1.7m
5BangladeshDhaka170m
6BhutanThimphu800k
7BruneiBandar Seri Begawan470k
8CambodiaPhnom Penh17m
9ChinaBeijing1.41b
10CyprusNicosia1.2m
11GeorgiaTbilisi3.7m
12IndiaNew Delhi1.42b
13IndonesiaJakarta276m
14IranTehran88m
15IraqBaghdad44m
16IsraelJerusalem9.7m
17JapanTokyo124m
18JordanAmman11m
19KazakhstanNur-Sultan20m
20KuwaitKuwait City4.5m
21KyrgyzstanBishkek6.7m
22LaosVientiane7.6m
23LebanonBeirut6.8m
24MalaysiaKuala Lumpur33m
25MaldivesMalé540k
26MongoliaUlaanbaatar3.5m
27MyanmarNaypyidaw55m
28NepalKathmandu31m
29North KoreaPyongyang26m
30OmanMuscat4.5m
31PakistanIslamabad240m
32PalestineRamallah5m
33PhilippinesManila114m
34QatarDoha2.9m
35Saudi ArabiaRiyadh36m
36SingaporeSingapore5.9m
37South KoreaSeoul52m
38Sri LankaColombo22m
39SyriaDamascus22m
40TaiwanTaipei23m
41TajikistanDushanbe10m
42ThailandBangkok70m
43Timor-LesteDili1.4m
44TurkeyAnkara88m
45TurkmenistanAshgabat6.3m
46United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi10m
47UzbekistanTashkent37m
48VietnamHanoi100m
49YemenSana’a34m

The leading universities in Asia serve millions of students from across the world with progressive and futuristic skills.