ASTANA – Nazarbayev University has moved into the 376–400 group in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, improving its position by another 100 places and retaining its top ranking among universities in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The university has risen by 200 positions over the past two years.
It was ranked in the 501–600 group in 2024, moved to 401–500 in the following edition and has now entered the 376–400 range. The latest edition of the THE rankings includes a record 2,297 universities from 118 countries and territories, 106 more institutions than the previous year.
Against this larger field, Nazarbayev University moved from the top 23% of universities globally two years ago to the top 17%. THE evaluates universities across five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry engagement.
Nazarbayev University improved its performance across almost all of the areas in the latest ranking, with research quality remaining its strongest indicator. According to the university, its research performance is comparable with that of the University of Geneva, the University of Arizona and the University of Rochester.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the entire NU community and Kazakhstan on this result. For the first time, a Kazakh university has reached this level in one of the leading global university rankings. This is an important achievement not only for our university, but also for the country’s higher education system,” NU President Waqar Ahmad said.
Kazakhstan is represented by 10 universities in the latest THE ranking. Among them are Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, ranked 1,201–1,400, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and Satbayev University, both in the 1,401–1,600 group.