The UIB is no longer among the best 1,000 universities in the world

PalmaThe University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) has disappeared from the 2026 edition of the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), known as the Shanghai Ranking. The Balearic university thus ceases to be among the 1,000 best university institutions in the world, according to a classification that is published every August 15 and which this year places 30 Spanish universities among the first thousand.

The departure of the UIB occurs in an edition in which Spain loses presence in the lower part of the ranking. In total, eight Spanish universities have left the classification and only two have been incorporated: Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid and the University of Valladolid.

With these incorporations, the number of Spanish centers among the 1,000 best becomes 30, six fewer than in the previous edition. In addition to the UIB, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the University of Cordoba, the University of Cadiz, Carlos III University of Madrid, the University of Lleida, the University of Jaen, and the University of Cantabria have been left out of the ranking.

The University of Barcelona, the best in the State

The University of Barcelona is once again, for another year, the best-ranked state institution in the Shanghai Ranking and remains among the 200 best universities in the world.

In the 201-300 band, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Complutense University of Madrid appear, both improving compared to last year, when they were ranked between positions 301 and 400.

In the next group, among the 301 and 400 best, are the Autonomous University of Madrid, the University of Granada, and the University of the Basque Country, which maintain their position, in addition to the University of Valencia, which worsens compared to the previous edition.

Among the 500 best in the world are also the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Pompeu Fabra University, the University of Navarra, the University of Seville, and the University of Zaragoza. Pompeu Fabra drops from the 301-400 band, while Zaragoza improves and enters the group of the 500 best.

30 Spanish universities among the thousand best

The ranking also places the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the University of Santiago de Compostela between positions 501 and 600.

Between 701 and 800 appear the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the University of Extremadura, the University of La Laguna and the University of Murcia. This last one drops compared to last year, when it was among the 700 best.

In the 801-900 range are the Jaume I University, the University of Alcalá, the University of Malaga, the University of Oviedo, the University of Salamanca and the Rovira i Virgili University.

Finally, between the 901 and 1,000 best are the Rey Juan Carlos University, the University of Alicante, the University of Castilla-La Mancha, the University of Girona, the University of Valladolid and the University of Vigo. Rey Juan Carlos and Valladolid are the two new Spanish additions to the ranking.

Harvard remains at the top

In the international arena, the Shanghai ranking continues to be led by Harvard University, followed by Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The three institutions are American.

The 2026 edition therefore leaves the UIB outside a classification in which it had managed to place itself among the 1,000 best universities in the world. Its disappearance comes in a year in which other Spanish university centers also lose presence, while only two new institutions manage to enter it.