Brazil Dominates; Chile Shines; Ecuador Soars
LONDON, Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global higher education experts QS Quacquarelli Symonds have released the 2026 edition of the QS Latin America and The Caribbean Rankings.
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) reclaims top-spot, highlighting Chilean excellence
- Brazil shines in research while Universidade de São Paulo (USP) slips to second. Thirty-four universities debut
- Mexico & Colombia boast strong international reputation, led by Tec de Monterrey, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and Universidad de los Andes
- Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) maintains international prestige despite funding challenges
- Ecuador is most improved: 57% universities rise, 9% drop; Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) leads nationally for first time
- Belize and Trinidad & Tobago debut; Universidad de Puerto Rico ranks highest in Caribbean
UC reclaims the top spot for the first time since 2022, usurping USP which comes second, followed by Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) in third.
Colombia and Argentina's highest ranked universities also feature among the top-10; Tecnológico de Monterrey comes fourth, Universidad de los Andes comes eighth and UBA places 10th. No new entries are among the top-10.
Top-10 | |||
2026 | 2025 | ||
1 | 2 | UC | Chile |
2 | 1 | USP | Brazil |
3 | 3 | Unicamp | Brazil |
4 | 4 | Tecnológico de Monterrey | Mexico |
5 | 5 | Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro | Brazil |
=6 | 8 | UNESP | Brazil |
=6 | 6 | Universidad de Chile | Chile |
8 | 7 | Universidad de los Andes | Colombia |
9 | 9 | UNAM | Mexico |
10 | 10 | UBA | Argentina |
The rankings feature 491 universities from 26 countries. Brazil is most represented (130, adding 34 universities year-on-year). It is followed by Mexico and Colombia (67 each). The following table compares the top-five countries by number of ranked universities, showing new entrants, overall performance shifts, and distribution across tiers.
Top countries by total ranked universities | ||||||||||
Country | Total | Up | Same | Down | New | Top-10 | Top-20 | Top-50 | Top-100 | Top-200 |
Brazil | 130 | 29 % | 30 % | 41 % | 34 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 26 | 59 |
Colombia | 67 | 8 % | 54 % | 38 % | 6 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 15 |
Mexico | 67 | 17 % | 40 % | 43 % | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 25 |
Argentina | 45 | 27 % | 29 % | 44 % | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 23 | |
Chile | 41 | 41 % | 37 % | 22 % | 2 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 28 | |
QS Senior VP Ben Sowter said: "The rankings see Chile emerge as a top performer, with UC leading and the country achieving one of the region's highest concentrations of top-tier universities."
"Yet regionally, challenges persist: investment, research, digital infrastructure and accessibility continue to hinder competitiveness."
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