The 2011 ranking of the top 100 universities remains quite stable. The US dominates in terms of absolute numbers, with 53 universities (one less than in 2010). The UK, number 2, comes far behind with 10 universities. The top 100 ranking is trusted by North American and European institutions, with the only exceptions of Australia and Japan.
The hierarchy is completely reversed when one considers the number per capita (in this case, per million population, times 100). Now, the small European countries assert themselves as the Davids challenging the US Goliath. The top 5 ranks are taken by Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, in this order. In per capita terms, they clearly outperform the heavy weights. The US maintain a honorable rank, 7th, with a score above the median (14.9) and right on the average (red line). But the picture is not very kind to the likes of Germany, France, Japan or Russia that have modest scores, well below the median and the average.
100 World Top Ranked Universities per Capita | |||
Nation |
Number of 100 Top Ranked Universities |
Population |
Per Capita Index |
| Australia | 4 | 21.6 | 18.5 |
| Belgium | 1 | 10.5 | 9.5 |
| Canada | 4 | 34.0 | 11.8 |
| Denmark | 2 | 5.5 | 36.5 |
| Finland | 1 | 5.3 | 18.7 |
| France | 3 | 62.8 | 4.8 |
| Germany | 6 | 82.3 | 7.3 |
| Israel | 1 | 7.4 | 13.5 |
| Japan | 5 | 127.6 | 3.9 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 16.5 | 12.1 |
| Norway | 1 | 4.8 | 20.8 |
| Russia | 1 | 139.6 | 0.7 |
| Sweden | 3 | 9.3 | 32.3 |
| Switzerland | 4 | 7.6 | 52.7 |
| United Kingdom | 10 | 61.8 | 16.2 |
| United States | 53 | 317.6 | 16.7 |
| Median | 3 | 14.9 | |
Sources: Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai and UN Population Division.
