Dubai has fallen from 54th to 72nd place in the 2025 QS Best Student Cities Ranking, while retaining its position as the Arab world’s leading student city.
Affordability was given as a reason for the lower ranking, while Sharjah's “exceptional” performance in attracting international students was given as a big factor behind the emirate's growing reputation.
The ranking, which named six Arab cities among the 100 best for students worldwide, is an annual list of top cities for students for the upcoming academic year.
The list, put together by UK-based higher education information provider Quacquarelli Symonds, evaluated 150 cities on indicators including desirability, affordability, diversity and employment opportunities after graduation.
London remained the world’s best student city for the sixth ranking in a row, followed by Tokyo and Seoul.
The ranking revealed that Dubai is held in high regard among students who have studied in the city. It is also the world’s fourth best-reviewed student city, according to the Student Voice indicator, based on a survey of 100,000 students conducted by QS.
Why did Dubai slip?
William Barbieri, communications manager at QS, said that a decline in its world university ranking indicator and student mix metric contributed to Dubai's fall.
“These declines are attributed to the relocation of the American University of Sharjah and the University of Sharjah to the city of Sharjah,” said Mr Barbieri.
Previously it was the case that universities in Sharjah were included as part of Dubai in the study. This year's rankings represent the first time Sharjah has been classified as its own separate entity.
“This move has reduced the number of ranked universities in Dubai and decreased its number of international students, as reflected in the Student Mix and World University Ranking indicator," he said.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai's private education regulator, said the absence of a number of leading universities had affected the emirate's ranking.
"Dubai is home to 34 branch campuses of highly ranked, internationally renowned universities, which are not included in the QS Best Student Cities Rankings,” said a KHDA spokesperson.
“The exclusion of branch campuses significantly affects the overall ranking of Dubai as these campuses contribute substantially to the emirate’s educational landscape and quality.
“The record 12 per cent enrolment growth in Dubai’s private higher education sector reflects the emirate’s reputation as a leading hub for education and innovation, attracting international students and faculty from around the world with its diverse and robust higher education options that cater to a wide range of student ambitions.”
Dubai also saw a steep drop in its affordability ranking, which looks at student fees, maintenance grants and cost of living. It fell from 77th to 128th.
“Sharjah, in particular, performs exceptionally in internationalisation,” said Mr Barbieri, adding how the two universities from Sharjah contributed significantly to Dubai's ranking last year.
He said the American University of Sharjah has about 3,695 international students while the University of Sharjah has 6,248, compared to the American University of Dubai, which has 1,436.
“So that's a really significant drop and that would be one of the key driving forces behind the success of Sharjah being almost in the top 100,” he added.
Dubai has also achieved favourable safety scores.
“It's climbed from seventh to fourth in safety globally. Safety is quite an incredible indication of the security of these cities, which is a real driver of international appeal,” Mr Barbieri said.
Six Arab cities make the top 100
Last year, Dubai and Cairo were the only cities in the top 100 list. This year, they were joined by Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Amman and Doha.
“What we see across the Arab region is a consistent improvement in indicators relating to livability, safety and pollution,” said Mr Barbieri.
The results featured 10 cities from the Arab region overall, with Dubai taking the highest rank.
Sharjah, Jeddah and Alexandria were ranked for the first time, and Riyadh has the Arab region’s highest concentration of world-class universities.
“Governments are leading the way by investing a lot of money into strengthening the local university options, which means there are more inbound students as well as more students staying domestically,” said Soraya Beheshti, managing director at Crimson Education for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“I've noticed that the kind of companies that students can expect to work after their graduation have vastly diversified and continue to do so every year.”
Previously Dubai offered employment to midcareer executives at large multinationals, but now the city has more job opportunities for students as well as start-up accelerators and technology companies.
Safety is another major consideration for international students.
“The world is unsafe at the moment and the GCC, especially the UAE, is just incredibly safe,” said Ms Beheshti.
“I think families and students know they're not going to have to worry about getting mugged or about gun violence or growing Islamophobia around the world. You don't have to worry about that here.”
London, Tokyo and Seoul the places to be
London topped the list, while Tokyo and Seoul took the second and third positions. Munich came fourth, while Melbourne took fifth place.
The soft-power held by Tokyo and Seoul is of great appeal to students, said Ms Beheshti.
“I think that plays a huge role in it and it's not just manga or anime but these sure contribute to it,” she said.
“I would say the overall soft culture production of Japan and South Korea is incredibly strong with that age group and K-pop has exposed an entire generation of young people all over the world to Korean culture, and they love it.
“Between anime and manga, and K-pop … it has massively piqued the interest of many young teenagers who want to study somewhere completely different.
“Tokyo and Seoul are two cities that have extremely robust stem [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] industries, particularly things like robotics, which Korean companies are some of the best in the world.
“So that's something that people think gives them an edge.”
