LONDON, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Asian universities could overtake their western counterparts within two decades, say the compilers of QS University Rankings: Asia released today on http://www.topuniversities.com

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120528/533558 )

HKUST tops the rankings ahead of National University of Singapore and Hong Kong University, which tie for second place. Peking University moves up one place to fifth, its highest ever position.

2013 QS University Rankings Asia: Top 10

                                                   Country

    2013 2012 Institution                         Territory
    1    1    HKUST                                  HK
    2=   2    National University of Singapore    Singapore
    2=   3    University of Hong Kong                HK
    4    4    Seoul National University             Korea
    5    6    Peking University                     China
    6    7    KAIST                                 Korea
    7=   9    POSTECH                               Korea
    7=   5    The Chinese University of Hong Kong    HK
    9    8    The University of Tokyo               Japan
    10=  10   Kyoto University                      Japan
    10=  17   Nanyang Technological University    Singapore

© QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2013 http://www.topuniversities.com

 "Asian higher education is undergoing a rapid transformation.  Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Korea are at the forefront of the assault on the global academic elite," says Ben Sowter, head of QS Intelligence Unit, which also compiles the QS World University Rankings.

"There are already 17% more Asian universities in the global top 200 since the recession, and the next two decades could see leading US and European universities objectively overtaken."

QS University Rankings: Asia also shows a five-year surge in international students studying at ranked institutions in the region, from 175,286 in 2009 to 255,212 this year. Total international faculty has grown from 21,223 to 35,677.

"As Western governments struggle to maintain funding levels, Asian institutions have rapidly increased their ability to attract the world's best faculty and students," says Sowter.

The rapid speed of change in the region is on display in a complementary ranking, QS Top 50 under 50, which ranks universities established since 1963. Asia boasts five of the world's top six young institutions, a forecast of a future realignment of the global balance of power from West to East.

   (Top 10)

         2012                                                      Country

    Rank Global                    Institution                     Territory
    1    33     HKUST                                              HK
    2    47     Nanyang Technological University                   Singapore
    3    58     The University of Warwick                          UK
    4    63     Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Korea
    5    95=    City University of Hong Kong                       HK
    6    97     Pohang University of Science and Technology        Korea
    7    107    Maastricht University                              Netherlands
    8    155    University of California, Irvine                   USA
    9    159    The Hong Kong Polytechnic University               HK
    10   163    Lancaster University                               UK

SOURCE QS Quacquarelli Symonds