Top 100 Universities by International Students Share, 2026
Universities with the highest share of international students
This ranking compares universities by the percentage of enrolled students reported as international in public Times Higher Education profile statistics. The measure shows student-origin concentration: where students from outside the domestic category form the largest part of the campus population.
The source environment is the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 cycle, published in October 2025 and covering 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and territories. The values below are used as a profile-statistics snapshot for the 2026 cycle, not as a calendar-year 2026 enrolment count.
The table uses one profile statistic only: the share of students reported as international. It should be read separately from broader internationalisation rankings, which also consider staff composition, research collaboration, reputation and other dimensions.
Central European University is the highest entry in this profile-statistics comparison.
The table covers 100 universities with high visible international-student percentages in the reviewed snapshot.
Public profile statistics from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 environment.
Percentage of enrolled students reported as international in the source profile.
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What the ranking measures
International-student share measures the composition of enrolment, not institutional quality and not student volume. A specialist institution with a small domestic intake can reach 80% or more, while a large research university may host many more international students in absolute terms but show a lower percentage because its domestic student body is much larger.
The indicator is useful because it highlights the campus environments where international recruitment shapes teaching, services, admissions work, housing demand and peer networks. It should be read alongside total enrolment, programme mix, tuition policy, visa conditions and the absolute number of students from abroad.
Top 10 universities by foreign-student share
The upper end of the list is led by institutions whose enrolment model is strongly international: cross-border universities, private institutions, specialist schools, business schools, medical universities and campuses in smaller host markets.
| Rank | University | Country / territory | International students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central European University | Austria | 96% |
| 2 | Anglo-American University | Czechia | 95% |
| 3 | Macau University of Science and Technology | Macao | 94% |
| 4 | Cyprus International University | Northern Cyprus | 93% |
| 5 | Gulf Medical University | United Arab Emirates | 92% |
| 6 | Carlemany University | Andorra | 91% |
| 7 | London Business School | United Kingdom | 91% |
| 8 | Constructor University | Germany | 90% |
| 9 | Near East University | Northern Cyprus | 88% |
| 10 | Westcliff University | United States | 88% |
Equal percentages remain separate because each institution has its own profile and country context. The table describes student-origin concentration, not teaching or research performance.
Chart: highest shares in the Top 20
The first twenty institutions range from 96% to 74%. That spread is typical of campuses where overseas recruitment is a central part of the operating model, not a small add-on to domestic enrolment.
Methodology
The table ranks universities by the international-student percentage shown in public Times Higher Education profile statistics for the World University Rankings 2026 cycle. It is a student-composition ranking based on a visible profile metric.
Formula
International-student share = international students / total enrolled students × 100.
Data period
THE WUR 2026 was released in October 2025. The values are treated as a 2026-cycle profile snapshot.
Institution coverage
The table includes universities with a visible international-student percentage in the reviewed public profile snapshot.
What is excluded
The metric excludes staff origin, research collaboration, reputation, teaching quality, affordability and graduate outcomes.
The main comparability limits are definition and reporting practice. Universities and national systems may classify international students by citizenship, domicile, fee status, visa status, previous education location or institutional reporting rules. Short-term exchange students and offshore-campus students can also be treated differently.
Percentages are kept as whole-number values as shown in source profiles. Ties are not merged. The result should be used as a ranking of reported student-origin concentration, not as a standalone measure of university strength.
Full ranking: 100 universities by reported foreign-student share
The table lists 100 institutions by reported share of enrolled students classified as international. The controls adjust the visible subset, country filter and display order while preserving the original share rank.
| Share rank | University | Country / territory | International students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central European University | Austria | 96% |
| 2 | Anglo-American University | Czechia | 95% |
| 3 | Macau University of Science and Technology | Macao | 94% |
| 4 | Cyprus International University | Northern Cyprus | 93% |
| 5 | Gulf Medical University | United Arab Emirates | 92% |
| 6 | Carlemany University | Andorra | 91% |
| 7 | London Business School | United Kingdom | 91% |
| 8 | Constructor University | Germany | 90% |
| 9 | Near East University | Northern Cyprus | 88% |
| 10 | Westcliff University | United States | 88% |
| 11 | Bloomsbury Institute London | United Kingdom | 87% |
| 12 | London Film School | United Kingdom | 87% |
| 13 | University of Doha for Science and Technology | Qatar | 85% |
| 14 | RAK Medical and Health Sciences University | United Arab Emirates | 84% |
| 15 | European University | Georgia | 82% |
| 16 | Ajman University | United Arab Emirates | 81% |
| 17 | Royal College of Art | United Kingdom | 78% |
| 18 | Islamic University of Madinah | Saudi Arabia | 77% |
| 19 | City University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 76% |
| 20 | VIZJA University | Poland | 74% |
| 21 | Arabian Gulf University | Bahrain | 73% |
| 22 | London School of Economics and Political Science | United Kingdom | 72% |
| 23 | Eastern Mediterranean University | Northern Cyprus | 72% |
| 24 | Istituto Marangoni | Italy | 72% |
| 25 | European University of Armenia | Armenia | 69% |
| 26 | University of Bedfordshire | United Kingdom | 68% |
| 27 | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | United Kingdom | 65% |
| 28 | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | Switzerland | 64% |
| 29 | UCL | United Kingdom | 63% |
| 30 | University for the Creative Arts | United Kingdom | 62% |
| 31 | Alfaisal University | Saudi Arabia | 61% |
| 32 | Imperial College London | United Kingdom | 60% |
| 33 | University of Suffolk | United Kingdom | 60% |
| 34 | RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences | Ireland | 59% |
| 35 | University of Strathclyde | United Kingdom | 58% |
| 36 | King’s College London | United Kingdom | 52% |
| 37 | University of Melbourne | Australia | 51% |
| 38 | Australian National University | Australia | 51% |
| 39 | University of Macau | Macao | 51% |
| 40 | Carnegie Mellon University | United States | 50% |
| 41 | University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 49% |
| 42 | Auckland University of Technology | New Zealand | 49% |
| 43 | University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 48% |
| 44 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | Hong Kong | 48% |
| 45 | Goldsmiths, University of London | United Kingdom | 48% |
| 46 | New York University | United States | 46% |
| 47 | University of Manchester | United Kingdom | 46% |
| 48 | University of Southampton | United Kingdom | 46% |
| 49 | Technical University of Munich | Germany | 45% |
| 50 | University of Glasgow | United Kingdom | 45% |
| 51 | ETH Zurich | Switzerland | 44% |
| 52 | UNSW Sydney | Australia | 44% |
| 53 | Bournemouth University | United Kingdom | 44% |
| 54 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom | 43% |
| 55 | The University of Queensland | Australia | 43% |
| 56 | Institut Polytechnique de Paris | France | 43% |
| 57 | Columbia University | United States | 42% |
| 58 | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | Hong Kong | 42% |
| 59 | SOAS University of London | United Kingdom | 41% |
| 60 | Federation University Australia | Australia | 41% |
| 61 | The University of Chicago | United States | 39% |
| 62 | University of Toronto | Canada | 39% |
| 63 | University of Amsterdam | Netherlands | 39% |
| 64 | University of Leeds | United Kingdom | 39% |
| 65 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | 38% |
| 66 | IMT Atlantique | France | 37% |
| 67 | Monash University | Australia | 36% |
| 68 | University of Birmingham | United Kingdom | 35% |
| 69 | University of Bristol | United Kingdom | 35% |
| 70 | Delft University of Technology | Netherlands | 35% |
| 71 | Aston University | United Kingdom | 35% |
| 72 | Johns Hopkins University | United States | 34% |
| 73 | University of British Columbia | Canada | 34% |
| 74 | University of Vienna | Austria | 34% |
| 75 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | United States | 33% |
| 76 | California Institute of Technology | United States | 33% |
| 77 | Boston University | United States | 33% |
| 78 | RWTH Aachen University | Germany | 33% |
| 79 | Royal Holloway, University of London | United Kingdom | 33% |
| 80 | Georgia Institute of Technology | United States | 32% |
| 81 | National University of Singapore | Singapore | 31% |
| 82 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore | Singapore | 31% |
| 83 | Rice University | United States | 31% |
| 84 | Wageningen University & Research | Netherlands | 31% |
| 85 | Bangor University | United Kingdom | 31% |
| 86 | University of Reading | United Kingdom | 31% |
| 87 | Northumbria University | United Kingdom | 30% |
| 88 | McGill University | Canada | 29% |
| 89 | KTH Royal Institute of Technology | Sweden | 28% |
| 90 | University of Groningen | Netherlands | 28% |
| 91 | Washington University in St Louis | United States | 28% |
| 92 | Hamburg University of Technology | Germany | 28% |
| 93 | Jinan University | China | 28% |
| 94 | Harvard University | United States | 27% |
| 95 | University of Southern California | United States | 27% |
| 96 | University of Pennsylvania | United States | 26% |
| 97 | Cornell University | United States | 26% |
| 98 | Erasmus University Rotterdam | Netherlands | 26% |
| 99 | Applied Science Private University | Jordan | 26% |
| 100 | Stanford University | United States | 25% |
Source snapshot: public Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 profile statistics, reviewed for this page on May 23, 2026. The list compares universities by the visible student-share metric shown in profiles.
What patterns appear in the Top 100?
Specialist and private institutions lead the top
The highest percentages often appear at institutions built around cross-border demand: business schools, medical schools, arts institutions, private universities and campuses in small host markets. Their domestic student base is limited, so international enrolment can define the institution’s profile.
Large research universities rank differently by share
Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Melbourne, Toronto, Harvard, MIT and Stanford remain major global destinations. Their percentages are lower because large domestic enrolment reduces the international share even when overseas headcount is substantial.
The United Kingdom appears across the ranking, from specialist London institutions to large research universities. That reflects English-language provision, postgraduate demand, mature recruitment channels and long-standing global demand for UK qualifications.
Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, Switzerland and Gulf higher-education systems also appear repeatedly. In these markets, international demand is linked to English-taught programmes, professional degrees, medical education, business education, regional mobility and globally visible credentials.
The lower part of the Top 100 is still highly international by ordinary campus standards. Values around 25–35% can represent a large operational footprint, especially at universities where each percentage point may correspond to hundreds or thousands of students.
How readers can use this ranking
Students can use the ranking to understand campus mix before applying. A high international-student share often means a more globally diverse classroom, more multilingual peer networks and stronger institutional experience with visas, orientation, housing advice and academic support for overseas students.
Universities can use the metric to evaluate recruitment exposure. A campus with a very high overseas share may benefit from tuition revenue, global alumni networks and international brand visibility, but it is also more exposed to visa restrictions, currency movements, geopolitical shocks, travel disruption and affordability changes in source countries.
Analysts should compare the percentage with total enrolment and absolute international headcount. Percentage measures concentration; headcount measures scale. A small institution at 90% and a large university at 35% can represent very different operational realities.
For policymakers, high shares can signal the attractiveness of a higher-education system, but they can also reveal dependence on external demand. Housing capacity, post-study work rules, quality assurance, student welfare and immigration policy affect whether internationalisation remains sustainable.
FAQ
Which university has the highest international-student share in this 2026 snapshot?
Central European University ranks first in this table with 96% of enrolled students reported as international in the reviewed profile-statistics snapshot.
Does this table use the same method as internationalisation rankings?
No. This table uses the student-share percentage shown in university profiles. Broader internationalisation rankings use additional indicators, such as staff mix, research collaboration and reputation.
Does a high international-student share mean a university is better?
No. A high share describes enrolment composition. Academic quality requires other evidence, including teaching, research, completion rates, graduate outcomes, admissions standards, facilities and student satisfaction.
Why can a famous university rank lower than a smaller private institution?
Large research universities often have very large domestic enrolment. Even if they host many international students in absolute terms, the percentage can be lower than at a smaller institution built mainly around overseas recruitment.
Is the ranking based on headcount or percentage?
It is based on percentage of total enrolment. It should not be read as a list of universities with the largest number of international students.
Why does the 2026 cycle use earlier underlying data?
Global university rankings are published after universities submit, check and validate data. A 2026 ranking-cycle label identifies the publication cycle, not necessarily a calendar-year 2026 enrolment count.
What should applicants check beyond this percentage?
Applicants should check programme fit, tuition, scholarships, housing, visa rules, language of instruction, support services, graduate outcomes, total enrolment and local labour-market access.
Sources
-
Times Higher Education — World University Rankings 2026
Source environment for the 2026 ranking cycle, university profiles and public profile statistics. -
Times Higher Education — World University Rankings methodology
Used to separate the student-share metric from broader THE ranking indicators and international outlook metrics. -
Times Higher Education — World University Rankings explained
Used for context on THE key statistics, including the percentage of international students shown in university profiles. -
Times Higher Education — Most International Universities
Used to distinguish this student-share comparison from broader internationalisation rankings.
