Why BD universities lag in global rankings 

Bangladesh's universities continue to lag behind in global rankings, highlighting persistent challenges in research, innovation and academic competitiveness despite the rapid expansion of the country's higher education sector.

According to the QS World University Rankings 2026, 15 Bangladeshi universities secured places in the global rankings. The University of Dhaka remains the country's highest-ranked institution at 584th, followed by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in the 761-770 band and North South University in the 951-1000 band. In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, none of Bangladesh's universities ranked among the world's top 800. Education experts say global rankings are largely driven by research output, citation impact, academic reputation, international collaboration and graduate employability. Bangladesh continues to perform poorly in several of these indicators, particularly in research.

According to the University Grants Commission (UGC), the country's 57 public universities were allocated around Tk 13,222 crore in the 2025-26 fiscal year, but only Tk 190 crore, about 1.44 percent of the total budget, was earmarked for research. Even this limited allocation is not fully utilized, reflecting weaknesses in research planning, institutional capacity and academic culture. National investment in research also remains low. World Bank data show Bangladesh spends only 0.3 percent of its GDP on research and development, far below countries such as China, South Korea and even neighbouring India.