TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei was ranked 14th in the world by Quacquarelli Symonds in the 13th edition of its Best Student Cities ranking released on Tuesday.

This was a 12-place leap from the previous edition and is Taiwan’s best result to date, surpassing its 2019 record of 17th place, per CNA. In addition to Taipei, four other Taiwan cities made the list: Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th), and Taoyuan (130th).

Hsinchu showed the most improvement, rising 13 spots. Quacquarelli Symonds credited this to the strong academic reputation of National Tsing Hua University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.

Tainan’s strengths were affordability and prominent local institutions like National Cheng Kung University. Taoyuan was the only Taiwan city to fall in the rankings.

Among the 39 Asian cities included, Taipei ranked sixth, up one spot from last year. The top five were Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Beijing, with Seoul also ranking first globally.

Quacquarelli Symonds said affordability is a major factor for international students, and Taipei’s highest score (81.4) was in this category. Of the 30 most affordable cities globally, 27 are in Asia, highlighting the region’s value-for-money appeal.

To qualify, cities must have at least 250,000 residents and two universities featured in the QS World University Rankings. Rankings are based on six indicators: university rankings, student mix, desirability, employer activity, affordability, and student view.

Quacquarelli Symonds also surveyed 100,000 prospective, current, and former students for input on desirability and student experience. Desirability factors include safety, pollution, and how many respondents wanted to study in the city. Taipei ranked 36th globally in desirability, up 20 places from last year, and seventh in Asia.

QS CEO Jessica Turner said this year’s World University Rankings included a record three Taiwanese universities in the global top 200, an important milestone for Taiwan's higher education. Taiwan’s steady efforts to enhance university quality and international reputation have helped Taipei achieve this strong showing.

The world’s top 10 cities were Seoul, Tokyo, London, Munich, Melbourne, Sydney, Berlin and Paris (tied for seventh), Zurich, and Vienna. Just ahead of Taipei were Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Beijing.

London, which topped the list for six consecutive years, fell to third. Quacquarelli Symonds attributed the drop to a sharp decline in affordability.