Nearly 90 percent of world’s best unis less affordable for students

London – Almost 90 percent of the best university cities in the world are becoming less affordable for students, according to the latest QS Quacquarelli Symonds, global higher education analysts, report.

The 10th edition of the QS Best Student Cities rankings shows London has retained its status as the world’s best student city for the fourth consecutive edition.

Munich shares second equal with Seoul, Zurich is fourth and Melbourne is fifth, while Edinburgh breaks into the top 10. 

Auckland ranks 37th equal with Dublin.

QS ranks cities with a population of at least 250,000, and with at least two universities placing in the QS World University Rankings.

The ranking offers a lens into the sentiments of both prospective and former students, with more than 98,000 survey responses contributing to the desirability (prospective students) andstudent view (former students) indexes.  

London’s leadership is due to:  

• Its high concentration of world-class universities; it achieves the world’s second-best score in the rankings indicator.

• Highly positive feedback from students that have studied in the city: it scores 98.5/100 for student view, a result bettered only by Berlin.

• Outstanding career opportunities for graduates: it places 4th in the employer activity metric, scoring 92.7/100.

• Other highlights:

• UK, Germany, and Australia are each home to two of the world’s ten best student cities.

• Five of Australia’s seven ranked cities rise.

• Paris rises to the eighth place. Barcelona (31st) is Spain’s top-city.

• Canada boasts three top-20 student cities, while US, Japan and Switzerland have two each.

• The US highest-ranking cities are Boston (11th) and NYC (18th).

• All the 18 US ranked cities decline in the affordability indicator

• Narrowingly missing the top-20, Amsterdam, and Stockholm, tied in the 21st place.

• Los Angeles and Kuala Lumpur break into the top 30.

• Seoul (2nd) is Asia’s top-ranked city.

• China (Mainland) top entry is Beijing (29th)

• India doubles its representation. Mumbai (103rd) is the highest ranked.

• Latin America’s number-one student destination is Buenos Aires (23rd)

• Sao Paulo (86th) and new-entry Rio de Janeiro (121st) are Brazil’s ranked cities.

• Africa’s top city for students is Cape Town (78th).

• Dubai (51st) is the top-ranked city in the Middle East.

• The fastest rising cities are Almaty 75th, rising thirty 30 places, followed by Abu Dhabi (71st) and Ankara (77th) both rising twenty-one places.

The full rankings can be found at www.topuniversities.com.

The top 50 are:      

2023 2022 QS Best Student Cities 2023 – Top 50 1 1 London UK 2= 2 Munich Germany 2= 3= Seoul South Korea 4 7 Zurich Switzerland 5 6 Melbourne Australia 6 5 Berlin Germany 7 3= Tokyo Japan 8 9= Paris France 9 8 Sydney Australia 10 12 Edinburgh UK 11 9= Boston US 12 15 Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR 13 17 Singapore Singapore 14 9= Montreal Canada 15 13 Toronto Canada 16 14 Vienna Austria 17 19= Osaka Japan 18 16 New York US 19 19= Lausanne Switzerland 20 18 Vancouver Canada 21=21AmsterdamNetherlands21=23StockholmSweden2322Buenos AiresArgentina2429BrisbaneAustralia25=28GlasgowUnited Kingdom25=30ManchesterUnited Kingdom2724San FranciscoUnited States2831=Kuala LumpurMalaysia2925=BeijingChina (Mainland)3031=Los AngelesUnited States31=35=AdelaideAustralia31=34BarcelonaSpain31=27TaipeiTaiwan3435=PerthAustralia3537=CanberraAustralia3637=ShanghaiChina (Mainland)37=31=AucklandNew Zealand37=39DublinIreland3945PragueCzech Republic40=41ChicagoUnited States40=42CoventryUnited Kingdom4243Newcastle upon TyneUnited Kingdom4344LeuvenBelgium4440MadridSpain45=46=BirminghamUnited Kingdom45=48LyonFrance4749CopenhagenDenmark4846=MilanItaly4952BristolUnited Kingdom5053=NottinghamUnited Kingdom