QS Asia 2027: Kazakhstan Remains the Leader in Central Asia

On November 3, 2026, Quacquarelli Symonds published its latest ranking of Asian universities. In terms of the number of participating universities, the Republic of Kazakhstan ranked tenth in the region. In the QS Asia University Rankings 2027, the country is represented by 51 universities from 19 cities.

According to experts, the published ranking is marked by a heightened level of competition. This year the total number of participants increased by 195 universities: the ranking includes 1,722 universities from 26 Asian countries and territories.

The University of Hong Kong tops the ranking for the second year in a row, followed by Peking University and Tsinghua University. Hong Kong shows the strongest positive dynamics among the region’s higher education systems and has five universities in the top 10, more than any other system. City University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong rank 4th and 5th, respectively.

Mainland China remains the largest and fastest-growing higher education system in the ranking: the number of Chinese universities grew by 53, to 448. China leads in the number of universities in the top 20 and in the number of debut entrants, while Fudan University shares sixth place with the National University of Singapore. Nanyang Technological University, also from Singapore, ranks eighth. Thus, the entire top ten consists of universities from China and Singapore.

India is represented by 325 universities, the second-largest number after mainland China, and leads the region in research productivity and in the share of faculty with a PhD.

Japan is represented by 153 universities and stands out for its high scores in faculty-student ratio and reputation.

Leading universities in the Republic of Korea are improving their positions, and in the number of universities in the top 20, Korea is behind only mainland China.

Four universities from the region entered the top 100: two from Malaysia (Universiti Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indonesia), and Chulalongkorn University (Thailand).

Ben Sowter, Senior Vice President of QS Quacquarelli Symonds, notes:

“The published ranking is a comparative analysis of data from a region that in many ways continues to shape the future of higher education. The new ranking highlights universities distinguished by high-quality research, broad global reach, and strong academic reputation, which are improving their positions amid growing regional competition and the diversity and dynamism of the Asian educational landscape”.

Amid this competition, Central Asia’s representation in the ranking continues to expand gradually. In the new ranking, the Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) have 99 universities in total. Kazakhstan shows the most convincing results. All three universities from the region in the top 100 are from Kazakhstan:

• Al-Farabi Kazakh National University – 46th place

• L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University – 62nd place

• Satbayev University – 89th place

Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University retained its high position at 138th. Nazarbayev University rose by 62 places at once to 139th and entered the top 200 for the first time. M. Auezov South Kazakhstan Research University also returned to this group, at 185th.

High growth is shown by Amanzholov University (up 64 places, reaching 618th) and Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, up to 337th (+34 places).

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Sergey Khristolyubov, Regional Director of QS Quacquarelli Symonds, says:

“No other global ranking features such broad representation of Kazakhstan’s universities. Given the growing presence of the country’s universities among the best in Asia, and the rise of Almaty and Astana in the QS Best Student Cities 2027 ranking, Kazakhstan continues to strengthen its international recognition as a regional educational hub.”

The strongest results of Kazakhstani universities are recorded in the indicators of student mobility and quality of the educational environment, against the backdrop of overall improvement in internationalization indicators, marked by the opening of more than 30 branches of foreign universities. The average results of Kazakhstani universities exceed the average values of all ranked universities on 7 of the 11 methodology indicators. Of particular note are “Outbound Exchange” (average score in Kazakhstan – 58.8, in Asia – 22.6), “Employer Reputation” (Kazakhstan – 38.8, Asia – 24.9), and “Faculty Student Ratio” (Kazakhstan – 52.0, Asia – 34.6).

Faculty Student Ratio: Kazakhstani universities traditionally show high results on this indicator: 10 of them are in the top 100 in Asia, with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University ranking 12th, and Almaty Technological University, Satbayev University, and L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University ranking 21st, 23rd, and 24th, respectively. 39% of Kazakhstani universities improved their scores on this indicator, and the national average (52 points) is significantly above the Asian average (34.6 points).

Academic mobility of students: “Outbound Exchange” remains Kazakhstan’s strongest indicator: the national average is 58.8 points against an Asian average of 22.6. Six Kazakhstani universities are in the top 100 on this indicator, led by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (12th) and Academician E.A. Buketov Karaganda National Research University, which rose from 29th to 18th. In “Inbound Exchange,” Al-Farabi Kazakh National University rose to 27th.

International Faculty Ratio: almost half of Kazakhstani universities (48%) improved their scores on this indicator, and seven are in the top 100. Among the leaders are Nazarbayev University, which was scored on this indicator for the first time and immediately took 26th place; Satbayev University (34th); and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, which rose from 52nd to 40th (incidentally, this university also entered the top 100 for the share of faculty with a PhD, at 95th). The achievements of these universities on this indicator may in future play an important role in raising their “Academic Reputation” and “International Research Network” scores.

International Research Network: Al-Farabi Kazakh National University rose from 44th to 31st, while Nazarbayev University holds its place among the top 25 universities in Asia (24th). L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (267th) and Satbayev University (363rd) also show positive dynamics on this indicator.

The areas for growth for Kazakhstani universities are “Citations per Paper,” “Papers per Faculty,” and “Faculty with PhD.” For some universities, “Academic Reputation” and “Employer Reputation” also require closer attention.

“Kazakhstan continues to lead the Central Asian countries in higher education,” Ben Sowter concludes. “At the same time, the results of the new ranking show both the potential of the country’s universities and the challenges they face. Nazarbayev University’s rise into the top 200 shows what a research university with broad international ties can achieve. The task now is to transform growing spending on research and development into the research impact of the entire higher education system.”

QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027:

results of Kazakhstani universities

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a British analytics and publishing company specializing in higher education research and the compilation of international university rankings. The rankings take into account academic reputation, employer opinion, citations of research papers, the h-index, faculty-student ratio, and the level of international integration.