The top universities in the area are King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi University.
According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025, which were made public early on Wednesday, both universities have been listed among the top 200 universities in the world for the first time. For the ninth year in a row, the University of Oxford has been named the world’s top university.
Abu Dhabi University, which rose to the 201-250 position in last year’s tables and was listed among the top 350 in the world in 2023, came in at number 191 this year. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals placed 176th in the 2025 rankings after spending the previous two years in the 201-250 range.
I have long emphasised the remarkable expansion of higher education in the Arab world, especially in the Gulf states,” said Phil Baty, chief global relations officer at Times Higher Education. Two Arab colleges from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have made it into the top 200 this year, making it a historic year.
This is a major monument to the amazing efforts to drastically improve higher education in those nations and the surrounding area, particularly with the support of revolutionary programs like the UAE’s Vision 2031 and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Suppose the region can stay stable over the ensuing years. In that case, we anticipate that more universities will enter the market as a result of the ongoing investment in higher education in the area.
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