JAKARTA - Two Singapore universities secured places inside Asia’s top 10 in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2026, according to THE’s announcement published on April 23.

The results were released as part of THE’s 2026 rankings schedule, which said the Asia rankings would be published on April 23 and first revealed to delegates at the Asia Universities Summit in Hong Kong. 

The National University of Singapore ranked 3rd, unchanged from 2025, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore ranked joint 4th, also remaining within the top tier. THE’s article specifically said Singapore’s two leading institutions were “holding firm” in third and joint fourth place, meaning they did not newly enter the top 10 in 2026; they retained elite regional positions.

China continued to dominate the table, with Tsinghua University ranked 1st and Peking University ranked 2nd. Mainland China accounted for five of the top 10 institutions and 20 of the top 50, unchanged from the previous year. 

THE also reported that The University of Tokyo rose to joint 4th, while Shanghai Jiao Tong University moved to 9th and The Chinese University of Hong Kong slipped to 10th.

THE data scientist Catherine Tushabe said small score gains in Japan and South Korea were not enough to keep pace with broader regional competition. Professor Simon Marginson, of the universities of Bristol and Oxford, attributed China’s strength to sustained government investment in science, technology and research universities. 

Elsewhere for Southeast Asian universities, Malaysia’s PETRONAS University of Technology rose to joint 35th, up from joint 43rd, and Malaysia had 27 ranked universities overall. THE also quoted Catherine Tushabe, THE data scientist, saying Malaysia’s average institutional score increase was “well above the global median.

The source also lists Indonesia with 35 ranked universities, led by the University of Indonesia in the 201–250 band. Thailand had 21 ranked universities, led by Chulalongkorn University at joint 134th, while Vietnam had 11 ranked universities, led by UEH University at joint 184th. 

The Philippines, on the other hand, had six ranked universities, led by Ateneo de Manila University in the 501–600 band, and Brunei Darussalam had two ranked universities, led by Universiti Brunei Darussalam at 113th.