The top 20 universities in the UK

Cambridge and Oxford retain top spots but overall picture is one of decline as international students stay away

University students return for the spring term at Cambridge University
Cambridge and Oxford are the first- and second-ranked universities in the UK
(Image credit: Graeme Robertson/Getty Images)

A majority of the UK's top universities have seen their global ranking fall for the second year in a row, as overseas enrolment declines sharply amid a tightening of immigration restrictions on international students.

The 2024 edition of the "Global 2,000" list by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), which ranked 20,966 institutions to ascertain the 2,000 best-performing universities in the world, features 92 British institutions, one fewer than last year.

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UK universities rely on income from international students – who account for nearly half of all enrolments on taught courses – to subsidise domestic students on whom, according to Russell Group estimates, they make an average loss of £2,500 a year.

Here are the UK's top 20 universities:

1. University of Cambridge (world ranking: 4th)

2. University of Oxford (5th)

3. University College London (20th)

4. Imperial College London (29th)

5. King's College London (42nd)

6. University of Edinburgh (48th)

7. University of Manchester (51st)

8. University of Birmingham (89th)

9. University of Bristol (94th)

10. University of Leeds (106th)

11. University of Southampton (127th)

12. University of Glasgow (131st)

13. University of Liverpool (136th)

14. University of Nottingham (141st)

15. University of Sheffield (160th)

16. Queen Mary University of London (161st)

17. Cardiff University (162nd)

18. Newcastle University (167th)

19. University of Warwick (177th)

20. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (204th)