Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: 'My colleagues and I are absolutely delighted to have achieved the top ranking again. There are many great universities around the world and we are proud to be in their company.'
'This past year has demonstrated to our publics, our governments, and even to ourselves just how much universities can contribute to society. The vaccine Oxford developed is being distributed in over 170 countries and over a billion doses have been manufactured. Together our universities have made the strongest possible case for renewed public investment in research universities.'
This year’s rankings – based on a methodology that includes analysis of 14.4 million research publications, a survey of 22,000 academics around the world and data on teaching, research – saw a record 1,662 universities from 99 countries and regions appear in the table.