A total of 33 Malaysian universities have been listed in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026, including four institutions making their debut in the annual assessment.
The QS Sustainability Rankings evaluate how effectively universities address urgent global environmental and social challenges, using metrics aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Of the Malaysian institutions listed, 17 improved their positions compared to last year, while 11 recorded a decline and one maintained its previous ranking.
In the latest edition, Universiti Malaya (UM) ranked 166th out of 2,001 institutions worldwide, placing it firmly within the top nine per cent of the world’s most sustainable universities and 16th in Asia.
UCSI University placed 334th globally and recorded Malaysia’s strongest performance in the Environmental Sustainability indicator, ranking 18th in the world. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), ranked 208th overall, also excelled in the same indicator with a global position of 71st.
The 17 Malaysian universities that improved their rankings include Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Taylor’s University, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP).
Globally, Lund University in Sweden topped the rankings for the first time since the sustainability table was introduced in 2023. The University of Toronto, previously the world’s top institution in 2024 and 2025, slipped to second place, followed by University College London (UCL), which climbed two spots to third.
This year’s ranking features 2,001 universities across 106 higher education systems, up from around 1,750 institutions in the previous edition. The United States recorded the highest participation with 240 institutions, followed by China (163), the United Kingdom (109), India (103), and France (76).
The QS Sustainability 2025 methodology evaluates universities across three key categories: Environmental Impact (45%) — which includes environmental sustainability, education, and research; Social Impact (45%) — covering equality, knowledge exchange, educational influence, graduate employability, and wellbeing; and Governance (10%) — which assesses ethics, transparency, hiring practices, and decision-making processes.
