National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Stands as the Only Greek University in the Top 200 Worldwide for 2025

The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has climbed to 191st place worldwide in the 2025 Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities (NTU Rankings), one of the most prestigious indicators of research quality, quantity, and impact.  With this distinction, the University of Athens becomes the first Greek University to break into the top 200 (2025) joining the world’s leading institutions in one of seven internationally recognized and widely respected global benchmarking systems that apply a comprehensive, multi-criteria framework.

At the same time, the University of Athens ranks highest among the nine (9) Greek and two (2) Cypriot universities included in the tables (See Table 1). Specifically Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is 2nd in Greece and 374th globally, followed by the University of Crete in positions 601-650; Harokopio University of Athens, the National Technical University of Athens, and the University of Ioannina in positions 751-800; the University of Thessaly in positions 801-850; the University of Patras in positions 851-900; and the Technical University of Crete in positions 1,151-1,200. Among Cypriot institutions, the University of Cyprus ranks 751-800 and Cyprus University of Technology occupies positions 901-950.

Table 1: University of Athens’ and other Greek and Cypriot universities’ positions in the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities over the past three years

Source: Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities

In addition to the overall rating, NTU provides rankings by 6 knowledge fields and 27 subject areas. Here too the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens distinguished itself by making its way into the top Universities in 5 out of 6 fields. Particular mention should be made of the field of Medicine, in which the University of Athens ranks 102nd worldwide.

As far as selected subjects are concerned, the University of Athens has been included and evaluated favourably—placing higher than 500—in 15 out of 27 areas covered by the Ranking. Among those that performed particularly well are Immunology (rank 85 worldwide), Clinical Medicine (rank 96), and Pharmacology & Toxicology (rank 102).

Notable progress was also made in the subject of Neuroscience and Behavior, which has risen approximately 30 places compared to its 2024 ranking, and now stands at 174th worldwide. Within the top 200, the University of Athens also includes the subjects of Space Science (ranked 180th) and Molecular Biology & Genetics (ranked 184th). Physics ranks within the top 250, climbing 21 positions compared to last year, while Psychiatry/Psychology has also achieved a significant rise, now ranked 274th compared to 295th in 2024.

The internationally recognized Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities has been developed and is maintained by National Taiwan University (NTU). It was created by a research team led by Dr Mu-Hsuan Huang, Professor of Library and Information Science at NTU, with the aim of providing an objective assessment of universities’ research performance worldwide based on scientific publications and citations. Initially implemented in collaboration with the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan, the NTU Rankings have been solely managed by National Taiwan University since 2012, which continues to update them on an annual basis.

The evaluation is based exclusively on the research output produced and published by each institution, on the impact generated by the published work of its academic staff and researchers, and on the distinction and recognition ultimately achieved by publications of particularly high influence. In addition, the Ranking reflects both the short-term and long-term performance of universities in research, ensuring that an institution’s position is not affected by an exceptionally strong performance in any single year.

The performance measurements are composed of 8 indicators. These indicators together represent three different criteria of research performance, which includes research productivity, research impact, and research excellence. Table 2 lists the indicators and shows the respective weightings of each one of them.

The list comprises the world’s leading universities based on research productivity and impact, namely the number of published scientific articles and the citations they receive. Candidate institutions are then cross-checked against other global university ranking systems to determine which will be included. The list is reviewed annually to ensure comprehensiveness and reliability. For 2025, a total of 2,025 universities are represented in the NTU evaluation.

Table 2: Rankings: Criteria, Indicators, and Weightings

Source: Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities

Source: Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities

Harvard University in the United States holds the top position according to the NTU Rankings, followed by Stanford University, also in the United States, in second place, and University College London in the United Kingdom in third. In fourth place rose the University of Toronto in Canada, followed by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom in fifth, and Johns Hopkins University in the United States in sixth.

Commenting on the University’s latest distinction, Rector Gerasimos Siasos said:

‘These notable achievements in the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities demonstrate that our institution’s successes are neither coincidental nor sporadic. Instead, they reflect a consistent and sustained record of high-level research, as captured by the ranking’s indicators, particularly over the past eleven years. Rankings of this kind carry significant weight, as they are not determined by funding levels, infrastructure, or the isolated accomplishments of individual faculty members. Rather, they emphasize what truly matters: the ongoing, collective production of high-quality scientific research at internationally recognized universities.

With knowledge, research, and collaboration as its driving forces, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens continues to forge paths that reach beyond national borders’.