According to the 2027 edition of the QS World University Rankings, all seven Greek universities that appeared in last year's ranking lost ground, even as the country expanded its overall presence with three new entrants. The results underscore a growing gap between Greece's higher-education institutions and universities in regions such as Asia, the Gulf and parts of Western Europe, where governments and institutions have invested heavily in internationalization and research partnerships.
The rankings, compiled by London-based higher-education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, assess more than 1,500 universities across 106 countries. Greece now has 10 institutions ranked among the world's top 1,500 universities, placing it alongside countries such as Austria, Belgium and Hungary in terms of representation within the European Union.
Despite the broader participation, the country's leading universities all moved down in the rankings.
The National Technical University of Athens, Greece's highest-ranked institution, remained within the world's top 400 universities but fell 23 places from last year. The university continues to perform strongly in research impact, maintaining a position among the world's top 200 institutions for citations per faculty member. However, it faces mounting competition in areas such as graduate employability, employer reputation and international research collaboration.
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens dropped out of the global top 400, although it improved its performance in research citations and international student enrollment. Meanwhile, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki strengthened its standing in academic reputation, rising to 307th globally in that category, but slipped to 502nd overall, falling out of the world's top 500 universities.
The latest rankings also marked the debut of three additional Greek institutions: Democritus University of Thrace, the University of the Aegean and the University of Thessaly. All three entered the rankings in the 1,201-1,400 range.
QS identified two key areas where Greek universities continue to lag behind international competitors: internationalization and academic reputation.
None of Greece's ranked universities placed among the world's top 800 institutions for international faculty recruitment, and no institution improved its standing in the measure that tracks the strength of global research networks. The findings suggest that Greek universities have yet to develop the international partnerships and academic mobility that increasingly drive performance in global rankings.
Academic reputation remains another challenge. While several institutions showed progress—notably Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Crete and the University of Patras—Greece ranks only 14th among European Union countries when measured by average academic reputation scores.
The results come as global competition for students, researchers and funding intensifies. While the United States remains the most represented country in the QS rankings, with 184 universities included, two-thirds of its institutions lost ground this year. Britain, by contrast, saw 31 universities improve their positions, while China continued its rapid ascent, with nearly three-quarters of its ranked institutions moving higher.
Some of the strongest gains came from emerging higher-education hubs. Saudi Arabia's King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals climbed to 63rd globally, while universities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates reached record positions. India also continued its expansion, tripling the number of ranked universities over the past decade to 52 institutions.
