In absolute terms, the United States (439) and the United Kingdom (68) lead the ranking of the world best social sciences universities, all disciplines included, ahead of Australia, the Netherlands, Canada and Hong Kong. Such customary small high-performers as Sweden, Switzerland, Norway or Denmark, take a more modest place in the realm of social sciences than in the hard sciences field. In per capita terms, Singapore leads the ranking, ahead of Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States.
Universities in the Top 50 | |||
Nation | Number in Top 50 | Population ¹ | Ratio per Capita |
| Australia | 35 | 24.5 | 142.7 |
| Austria | 1 | 8.6 | 11.6 |
| Belgium | 12 | 11.3 | 106.6 |
| Canada | 32 | 36.6 | 87.5 |
| China | 4 | 1,415.8 | 0.3 |
| Denmark | 7 | 5.7 | 122.7 |
| Finland | 1 | 5.5 | 18.2 |
| France | 5 | 65.6 | 7.6 |
| Germany | 5 | 82.3 | 6.1 |
| Hong Kong | 16 | 7.4 | 215.8 |
| Israel | 4 | 8.1 | 49.1 |
| Italy | 3 | 61.3 | 4.9 |
| Korea, Rep. of | 3 | 50.2 | 6.0 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 31.6 | 3.2 |
| Netherlands | 35 | 16.9 | 206.8 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 4.7 | 64.0 |
| Norway | 1 | 5.2 | 19.0 |
| Singapore | 13 | 5.8 | 223.7 |
| South Africa | 1 | 54.2 | 1.8 |
| Spain | 2 | 47.5 | 4.2 |
| Sweden | 4 | 9.8 | 40.7 |
| Switzerland | 6 | 8.4 | 71.4 |
| Taiwan | 2 | 23.5 | 8.5 |
| United Kingdom | 68 | 64.6 | 105.3 |
| United States | 439 | 330.3 | 132.9 |
| Average | 66.4 | ||
| Total | 703 | ||
| ¹ UN estimates for 2017. Taiwan: 2016 estimate from CIA Factbook. | |||
Sources: Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai.
