EDINBURGH University has been ranked the best in Scotland in a the latest league table of institutions worldwide.

Four universities in Scotland were included among the top 200 in the globe according to the annual list produced by the Times Higher Education (THE) supplement.

However, all four have fallen in the rankings compared to 2018.

Edinburgh University was placed 30th overall, down from 29th in 2018.

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Glasgow University was the only other Scottish institution to be ranked among the top 100, coming in at 99 - down from 93 previously.

Aberdeen University and St Andrews University were ranked at 168 and 198 respectively. Both had slipped from their previous ratings of 158 and 165.

Meanwhile, Oxford University topped the THE list for the fourth year in a row.

Second place this year was taken by the California Institute of Technology, in the United States, while Cambridge University was ranked third worldwide.

Two other US institutions - Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - complete the top five, and only one other UK institution, Imperial College London, makes the top 10.

ICL takes takes tenth place this year, compared to ninth last year.

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The annual list rates more than 1,300 universities in 92 countries on five areas: teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook.

Overall, the UK has 28 institutions in the top 200, down from 29 last year.

Of these, almost two-thirds (18 universities) have fallen by at least one place.

Phil Baty, THE chief knowledge officer, said: "Historically the UK has punched well above its weight with regards to higher education, being home to a huge number of top-quality institutions.

"In recent years however, increasingly strong competition from Asian institutions has begun to squeeze the UK out of its traditional top spots.

"Last year, the UK was displaced as the second most-represented country overall by Japan and the Asian nation further extends its lead this year.

"Meanwhile, the majority of UK universities in the top 200 have declined - although the country is still home to the best university in the world, the University of Oxford."

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He added: "British universities have long been able to attract the most talented academics and students from across the world, but there are signs that this is becoming more difficult ahead of Brexit.

"If the UK starts to withdraw from the international stage, its position in the upper echelons of the rankings will suffer."

 

THE World University Rankings (last year's positions are in brackets, while = denotes joint position)

:: 1 (1) University of Oxford

:: 3 (2) University of Cambridge

:: 10 (9) Imperial College London

:: 15 (14) University College London

:: =27 (26) London School of Economics and Political Science

:: 30 (29) University of Edinburgh

:: =36 (38) King's College London

:: =55 (57) University of Manchester

:: 77 (=79) University of Warwick

:: 87 (78) University of Bristol

:: =99 (=93) University of Glasgow

:: =110 (130) Queen Mary, University of London

:: 112 (=116) University of Birmingham

:: =117 (106) University of Sheffield

:: 122 (118) University of Southampton

:: =128 (119) University of York

:: 133 (=114) Durham University

:: =139 (=146) Lancaster University

:: =146 (141) University of Exeter

:: =146 (=161) University of Sussex

:: =152 (=149) University of Nottingham

:: =155 (=153) University of Leeds

:: 165 (=181) University of Liverpool

:: =166 (=167) University of Leicester

:: =168 (158) University of Aberdeen

:: 192 (=190) University of East Anglia

:: =198 (=187) Cardiff University

:: =198 (165) University of St Andrews