As many as 90 Pakistani universities have been included in the QS Asia University Rankings 2027, with the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) emerging as the country’s highest-ranked institution.
The latest rankings, released by international higher education ranking organisation Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), place NUST at joint 76th position in Asia. Quaid-i-Azam University secured 111th place, while Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) ranked joint 143rd.
COMSATS University Islamabad and the University of the Punjab completed Pakistan’s top five, securing 171st and 172nd positions, respectively.
The results reflect the representation of Pakistani higher education institutions in a regional assessment covering more than 1,700 universities across Asia.
Pakistan also secured two positions among the top 10 universities in Southern Asia. NUST ranked second in the subregional list, behind India’s Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi), which secured first place.
Quaid-i-Azam University ranked 10th in Southern Asia, giving Pakistan two institutions among the region’s leading universities.
Among other Pakistani institutions, the University of Lahore ranked 206th, the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore secured 208th place, and the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) ranked 221st.
The University of Peshawar and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI) also featured among Pakistan’s top 10, securing 250th and joint 251st positions, respectively.
Top 10 Pakistani universities in the QS Asia Rankings 2027
| Pakistan position | University | Asia rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NUST | 76 |
| 2 | Quaid-i-Azam University | 111 |
| 3 | LUMS | 143 |
| 4 | COMSATS University | 171 |
| 5 | University of the Punjab | 172 |
| 6 | University of Lahore | 206 |
| 7 | UET Lahore | 208 |
| 8 | PIEAS | 221 |
| 9 | University of Peshawar | 250 |
| 10 | GIKI | 251 |
At the international level, the University of Hong Kong retained the top position in Asia, followed by Peking University of China. Tsinghua University secured third place, while City University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong completed the top five.
The QS Asia University Rankings assess institutions through 11 performance indicators covering academic reputation, employer reputation, research output, teaching resources and international engagement.
Academic reputation carries the highest weight at 30%, followed by employer reputation at 20%. Faculty-to-student ratio, international research network and citations per paper each account for 10% of the overall assessment.
Other indicators include research papers per faculty member, the proportion of academic staff holding PhD qualifications, international faculty and student representation, and student exchange programmes.
The rankings provide students and researchers with an additional reference for comparing universities across Asia. However, overall positions should be considered alongside subject-specific rankings, programme quality, faculty expertise and individual academic requirements.
Students can access the complete QS Asia University Rankings 2027 through the official QS website and filter institutions by country to review Pakistan’s 90 listed universities.
Official rankings: QS Asia University Rankings 2027.
