QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026 – All New Zealand universities feature in top 450 in QS Sustainability Rankings in 2026
London, 18th November 2025: QS Quacquarelli Symonds, global higher education experts, have released the 2025 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability*. *The link will be live when the embargo lifts.
This year, some 2,000 universities in 106 locations feature, up from around 1,750 in the previous edition. Lund University in Sweden has taken the top spot for the first time since the ranking was established in 2023. The University of Toronto had been the best in the world in 2024 and 2025 and now drops to second place, followed by UCL in the UK which has climbed two positions to third overall. With Lincoln University rising 40 places to rank 423rd overall, all eight universities in New Zealand now feature in the top 450 for the first time.
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Top 10 institutions in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026 |
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|
2026 Rank |
2025 Rank |
||
|
1 |
=3 |
Lund University |
Sweden |
|
2 |
1 |
University of Toronto |
Canada |
|
3 |
=5 |
UCL |
UK |
|
4 |
=7 |
The University of Edinburgh |
UK |
|
5 |
=5 |
University of British Columbia |
Canada |
|
6 |
=39 |
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) |
UK |
|
=7 |
=7 |
Imperial College London |
UK |
|
=7 |
=12 |
The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) |
Australia |
|
9 |
=15 |
McGill University |
Canada |
|
10 |
=9 |
The University of Manchester |
UK |
Overall, 240 universities from the US feature in the ranking, followed by China with 163, the UK with 109, India with 103 and France with 77.
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QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026 by location |
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|
No HEi ranked |
No of HEi with lower YoY rank |
Lower % |
No of HEi with same YoY rank |
Same % |
No of HEi with higher YoY rank |
Higher % |
Delta % |
NEW |
|
|
USA |
240 |
168 |
70% |
23 |
10% |
38 |
16% |
-54% |
11 |
|
China (Mainland) |
163 |
73 |
45% |
12 |
7% |
29 |
18% |
-27% |
49 |
|
UK |
109 |
40 |
37% |
4 |
4% |
52 |
48% |
11% |
13 |
|
India |
103 |
30 |
29% |
15 |
15% |
32 |
31% |
2% |
26 |
|
France |
77 |
40 |
51% |
11 |
14% |
7 |
9% |
-42% |
19 |
|
/// |
/// |
/// |
/// |
/// |
/// |
/// |
/// |
/// |
/// |
|
New Zealand |
8 |
7 |
88% |
0 |
0% |
1 |
13% |
-75% |
– |
The UK has the most entries in the top 10, with five, followed by Canada with three. Sweden and Australia each have one university in the top 10. All of New Zealand’s eight universities rank in the top 450, all 13 ranked universities from the Netherlands, and all of Belgium’s 10 entries rank in the top 1000.
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Countries with the most top tier rankings |
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|
Country |
No HEi ranked |
Top 10 |
Top 20 |
Top 50 |
Top 100 |
Top 200 |
Top 500 |
Top 1000 |
|
United Kingdom |
109 |
5 |
8 |
17 |
30 |
44 |
62 |
82 |
|
Canada |
41 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
9 |
19 |
25 |
30 |
|
Sweden |
23 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
8 |
11 |
|
Australia |
38 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
11 |
21 |
31 |
36 |
|
Switzerland |
13 |
|
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
11 |
|
United States of America |
240 |
|
3 |
9 |
16 |
30 |
80 |
136 |
|
Belgium |
10 |
|
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
|
Finland |
12 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
|
New Zealand |
8 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
8 |
|
Ireland |
10 |
|
|
2 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
8 |
|
Netherlands |
13 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
13 |
Leigh Kamolins, QS Director of Analytics and Evaluation, and co-chair for the United Nations Higher Education Sustainability Initiative Action Group on Rankings Ratings and Assessments, said: “New Zealand is well renowned for its innovative, forward-thinking sustainability strategies. Once again, its universities excel in the QS World university Rankings: Sustainability 2026. Not only do all of its eight universities feature in the top 500 globally, but this year Lincoln University’s improved position means New Zealand’s universities all feature in the global top 450.”
QS’ methodology for the World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025 is based on university performance across three assessment categories:
- Environmental Impact (45% – Aggregating three indicators: Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Education and Environmental Research)
- Social Impact (45% – Aggregating five indicators: Equality, Knowledge Exchange, Impact of Education, Employability & Outcomes and Health & Wellbeing)
- Governance (10% – Considering factors related to good governance: ethics, hiring practices, transparency, decision making etc.)
QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025 – New Zealand
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NZ institution in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026 |
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|
2026 Rank |
2025 Rank |
Institution |
|
=110 |
=78 |
University of Otago |
|
=194 |
132 |
Victoria University of Wellington |
|
131 |
=129 |
Massey University |
|
28 |
17 |
The University of Auckland |
|
=277 |
=262 |
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) |
|
=116 |
=112 |
University of Waikato |
|
=90 |
=78 |
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha |
|
=423 |
=463 |
Lincoln University |
New Zealand is once again one of the best performing higher education systems on the planet with all of its eight universities ranked among the top 450. Among higher education systems with at least eight ranked institutions in the ranking, it ranks first on average in both the Environmental Impact and Governance lenses and second on average for Social Impact. However, faced with heightened global competition, only one institution improves its rank overall this year. No university from New Zealand feature in the top 100 for Knowledge Exchange, Employability or Outcomes or Health & Wellbeing. Seven of eight universities feature in the top 100 in the Equality indicator.
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New Zealand performances across lenses and indicators |
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|
Lens/ indicator |
Weighting |
Institution in New Zealand in top 100 |
Rank in indicator |
|
|
Social impact |
45% |
The University of Auckland |
30 |
|
|
University of Otago |
90 |
|||
|
Equality |
12% |
The University of Auckland |
12 |
|
|
Victoria University of Wellington |
35 |
|||
|
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) |
35 |
|||
|
University of Waikato |
52 |
|||
|
University of Otago |
64 |
|||
|
Lincoln University |
64 |
|||
|
Massey University |
89 |
|||
|
Impact of Education |
7% |
The University of Auckland |
29 |
|
|
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha |
66 |
|||
|
Massey University |
86 |
|||
|
University of Otago |
93 |
|||
|
Environmental Impact |
45% |
The University of Auckland |
36 |
|
|
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha |
43 |
|||
|
University of Waikato |
50 |
|||
|
Environmental Sustainability |
15% |
University of Waikato |
34 |
|
|
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha |
99 |
|||
|
Environmental Education |
17% |
The University of Auckland |
14 |
|
|
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha |
22 |
|||
|
University of Otago |
88 |
|||
|
Environmental Research |
13% |
The University of Auckland |
44 |
|
|
Governance |
10% |
University of Otago |
50 |
|
|
Victoria University of Wellington |
60 |
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Kamolins added: “From the University of Auckland’s Sustainability Hub, to University of Waikato’s research on the circular economy or smart energy, or University of Otago’s interdisciplinary approach to sustainability, New Zealand’s higher education system boasts outstanding examples of social and environmental sustainability.
“However, research suggest that the proportion of New Zealanders who think that the country should be doing more to tackle climate change has dropped to 54% in 2025 from 64% in both 2024 and 2023. As more global peers drive ahead with their sustainability efforts and rise in the rankings, universities in New Zealand need to ensure that the entire population is on board with the sustainability mission. This would also benefit New Zealand’s universities’ scores in the knowledge exchange area.”
Jessica Turner, CEO of QS, said: “As the first country to give all women the vote, New Zealand is among the world’s best for perceptions of gender equality. The QS Sustainability Rankings shows that it universities also excel in equality, with all eight featuring in the global top 130 in this important indicator.
“New Zealand’s higher education system promotes its commitment to sustainability through campaigns such as Education New Zealand’s #SustainableTomorrow and its I AM NEW initiative, celebrating Māori culture. The country’s commitment extends from environmental to social sustainability and recognises the role of higher education in making a better tomorrow.”
Detailed methodological information can be found here: https://support.qs.com/hc/en-gb/articles/8551503200668-QS-Sustainability-Rankings
The full rankings will be available on 18th November at 10:00 GMT and can be found at QS Sustainability University Rankings 2025 | Top Universities: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/sustainability-rankings/2025
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