The United States grab almost half of the slots in the academic ranking of world universities in engineering, technology and computer sciences in 2011. China, however, after consolidation of Taiwan and Hong Kong, can boast a formidable presence, with 13% of the slots. The Europeans give a modest show individually, although if we consider them as a whole — the European Union — they can claim the 2nd rank with 20 universities in the list.

The high-performers in per capita terms are Hong Kong and Singapore, well above the average, with a presence commensurate to their reputation for being the world hubs of information technology. Sweden, Israel and Switzerland put on a fine act too, with indexes more than twice the median value. Although the USA place 46 of their schools in the top 100 list — one less than last year —, they are below average (red line) and only slightly above the median index. The strong presence of the regional group formed of Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India and China in the top 100 list provides evidence of the growing role of Southeast Asian countries in the technology realm.

Sources: Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai, UN Population Division, and CIA - The World Factbook.

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