With the completion of the first semester of 2025 and the announcement of the results of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens records a historic success, as it is now ranked among the top Higher Educational Institutions globally in three international University rankings—with two of them placing it in the top 100 worldwide—for 2024-2025. Additionally, in the same year, it was awarded a Certificate of Recognition as the ‘Most Improved University in Europe’ by QS Ranking, and thereby expanded its international reach and renown.
More specifically, on June 18, 2025, the results of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings were released, which assessed the position of Universities globally, based on their economic and social impact, as measured against the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Achieving outstanding results in each of the SDGs, our Institution ranked first overall in Greece and Cyprus and 53rd globally in SDG 5: Gender Equality, 64th in SDG 4: Quality Education, and 65th in SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.
It is important to note that the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are not dependent on bibliometric data and reputation surveys, but rather on policies and practices that reflect each University’s commitment to sustainability, gender equality, social contribution, and efforts to reduce social inequalities.
The second achievement was our global ranking of 85th among the Top Universities by Top Google Scholar Citations. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ranked in the Top 100 of this list, confirming once again its leading position on the global academic stage. This particular result highlights the emphasis our University places on promoting excellence, open access to research, and international collaboration.
The third significant success came through the results of the AD Scientific Index World Top Universities Ranking. More precisely, our Institution climbed up 30 places from last year’s rating to 63rd position internationally, out of 24,317 Universities, Research Institutes, and Organizations included in the ranking. In addition, it ranks 15th among European Universities and 1st among Greek and Cypriot Universities for 2024-2025. It has the most scientists among Greek Universities in this ranking (2,287), with 155 of them in the top 3%, 578 in the top 10%, and 1,256 in the top 30% of researchers worldwide. This ranking underscores our University’s steadily growing research impact, as reflected in the h-index and i10-index metrics.
In response to the above, the Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Professor Gerasimos Siasos, made the following statement: ‘This triple global recognition validates the University of Athens’ strategic focus on academic excellence, social responsibility, internationalization, and extroversion. In addition, it comes as an important reward for the members of its academic community and demonstrates that our country’s oldest and largest University now rightfully holds a place among the world’s leading Higher Educational Institutions’.
