3 days ago
QS ranks KL as world's 12th best city for students, highest since index began
KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — Kuala Lumpur is now the 12th best city for students worldwide, according to the 2026 QS Best Student Cities Rankings released yesterday.
This is the city's highest-ever ranking since the index was introduced in 2014, and marks the first time KL has broken into the top 20 cities.
With an overall score of 90.3, KL is the second-highest Southeast Asian city on the list, just one spot below Singapore, which is ranked 11th.
In Asia, KL emerged in fourth place, overtaking major cities such as Beijing (13th), Taipei (14th) and Hong Kong (17th).
'This continuous ascent, having improved almost each year since 2016, underscores the city's dedicated efforts to establish itself as a premier global study destination,' QS chief executive officer Jessica Turner said in a statement yesterday.
QS ranks cities with a population of at least 250,000 and with at least two universities featured in the QS World University Rankings.
The survey, conducted among prospective and former students, comprises six broad categories: desirability, affordability, student mix, employer activity, university rankings, and student voice.
KL's weakest performance was in the Desirability metric, although it climbed eight spots from the previous edition to 81st in the latest rankings.
The city also dropped nine spots year-on-year in the Affordability metric and fell two spots year-on-year in the Student Voice metric.
While KL shows an upward trend, Selangor's capital city Shah Alam tumbled 21 spots to 144th after recording a decline across five of the six metrics.
Globally, South Korea's capital Seoul wrested the top spot from London as the world's best student city, while Japan's capital Tokyo came second.
London, which retained the number-one position for six consecutive years, finished third — largely due to slipping 11 places in the Affordability indicator.
