London 'has more top universities than anywhere else in the world'

London has more top universities that attract staff and students from around the globe than anywhere else in the world, a study reveals.

A total of 15 in the capital are named in a ranking of the world’s 200 most international universities.

It means London has more top global universities than the whole of the USA, Canada and France combined.

The highest ranked institution in the capital is Imperial College London, in 10th. The league table, to be published tomorrow by Times Higher Education, analyses the proportion of international staff and international students at each university. It also takes into account the number of research papers published that have at least one co-author from another country. Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said: “An institution’s global outlook is one of the key markers of a prestigious university.

“The top institutions hire staff from all over the world, attract students from a global market of top talent, and collaborate with leading departments wherever they happen to be based.”

Mayor Boris Johnson said: “London not only has the greatest concentration of top-class universities of any city in the world, it is also the most diverse and welcoming. At the cutting edge of innovation and creativity, and with unique cultural richness, London continues to have unrivalled international appeal, attracting the brightest academic and student brains on the planet.”

As well as Imperial, University College, King’s College, London School of Economics and Political Science, Queen Mary and Royal Holloway are all in the top 30. Brunel, Birkbeck, City, Westminster, Greenwich, Royal Veterinary College, Middlesex, Kingston and St George’s all appear in the top 200.

The most international institution is Qatar University — the first time the Middle East has topped the list. It knocks five-time leader École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, in Switzerland, down to fourth place.

Alice Gast, president of Imperial College London, said: “No university can achieve world-class status without a global community of staff, students and collaborators. Innovation often emerges from creative synergies when people from different cultures, disciplines and sectors come together.”

The full results will be available from midnight at timeshighereducation.com.