The 2019 edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which we published last September, broke records: it was our largest ranking to date, covering 1,258 institutions from 86 territories; it attracted more readers than ever to the THE website; and it garnered more media attention than any of the previous 14 editions of the rankings, with several thousand news articles reaching a potential global audience of hundreds of millions.

So what? you might say.

Well, those figures tell only part of the story. The increased size and depth of the rankings published in September ensures that we now have a broader and richer picture of the developing ¨C and rapidly changing ¨C world of global higher education. Many more institutions and countries outside the rich nations of the global north, which usually dominate world rankings, have now gained a clear position on the world stage, judged against the 13 rigorous global performance indicators that make up the THE World University Rankings.

Indeed, while the US took 172 places in the 2019 world rankings, Japan 103 and the UK 98, we were able to include an impressive 72 institutions from mainland China in the list, along with 32 from Taiwan. India claimed 49 places in the 2019 rankings, while Brazil took 36 places and Russia 35.

The strong levels of participation and engagement with our global data benchmarks have allowed THE to publish this 2019 edition of the Emerging Economies University Rankings with a total of 442 institutions included. Any country classified as an emerging economy by the FTSE Group¡¯s Country Classification process may be included in this ranking.

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This means that we can explore thoroughly the vitality of higher education and research in strongly emerging new forces such as Egypt and Malaysia, as well as the traditional emerging powerhouses of China, India and Russia. It also means that we can for the first time recognise dynamic institutions in new countries, including Kazakhstan and Serbia.

And what of the increased global interest in the rankings?

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We have always found that the World University Rankings are widely trusted and referenced by governments, university leaders and academics, as well as students and their families, all over the world. But I believe that the increasing popularity and media interest in THE¡¯s rankings reflects a widening acknowledgement by governments and sector leaders of the importance of strong universities ¨C despite some populist detractors ¨C and a growing hunger for independent data to monitor performance.

It also, of course, reflects the growing appetite from more and more young people across emerging nations to pursue higher education and transform their life chances.

THE is delighted to support them all.

Countries/regions represented in the Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019

Download a copy of the?Emerging Economies?Rankings 2019 digital supplement