QS university rankings expose regional disparities in Pakistan's higher education

Eighteen Pakistani universities have been included in the QS World University Rankings 2027, yet none have managed to break into the world's top 350. Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) retains its position as the country's highest-ranked institution, despite a slight decline in its global standing. The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) also saw a minor drop, while the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) improved its ranking.

“

The latest rankings also highlighted regional disparities in the country’s higher education landscape. Punjab and Islamabad continued to dominate the list, while Sindh managed to secure representation through only one public-sector institution, the University of Karachi, which was placed in the 1201-1400 tier. No university from Balochistan featured in the rankings.

According to the latest rankings released by UK-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), QAU fell to a joint 381st place from 354th last year, and NUST slipped to 384th from 371st. PIEAS, however, climbed significantly from the 721-730 band in the previous edition to a joint 560th place globally, emerging as Pakistan's third-highest ranked university. Other notable institutions include the University of the Punjab (588th), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) (608th), and COMSATS University Islamabad (639th).

The rankings highlight significant regional disparities within Pakistan's higher education sector. Universities in Punjab and Islamabad continue to dominate the list. Sindh is represented by only one public institution, the University of Karachi (1201-1400 tier), and no universities from Balochistan feature in the rankings. The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore is placed in the 791-800 band, and Aga Khan University and the University of Peshawar are in the 951-1000 bracket.

“

Global rankings were increasingly influenced by indicators such as sustainability and citations per faculty, areas where Pakistani institutions generally lag behind others because of inadequate research funding, weak international collaborations and low foreign faculty ratios.

Education experts point to factors such as sustainability and citations per faculty as key indicators in global rankings, areas where Pakistani institutions often lag due to insufficient research funding, weak international collaborations, and low ratios of foreign faculty. QAU, however, stands out for its research impact, scoring 97.2 out of 100 in citations per faculty, placing it among the top 60 universities worldwide in this metric. Analysts suggest that sustained investment in research infrastructure, internationalization, and faculty development is essential for Pakistani universities to improve their global standing.

“

Without sustained investment in research infrastructure, internationalisation and faculty development, Pakistani universities would find it difficult to improve their global standing despite isolated gains by some institutions.