LONDON — QS Quacquarelli Symonds, compilers of the world"s most consulted university rankings, released their annual list of the Arab Region"s best higher education institutions. The regional leader remains Saudi Arabia"s King Abdulaziz University (KAU), which retains the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive year. The top ten contains institutions from six different nations, emphasizing the breadth of quality and intensity of competition in the regional higher education ecosystem. The 2021 QS World University Rankings: Arab Region features 160 universities: expansion of 25 percent on the previous edition and is QS"s largest comparative evaluation of the region"s higher education system. For the fourth consecutive year a Saudi Arabian university occupies the regional No. 1 position; Lebanon"s leading university is American University of Beirut places 2nd; Qatar University rises to 3rd in the Arab region. This is its highest-ever position in this ranking. Three universities from the United Arab Emirates achieve top-ten positions. United Arab Emirates University (5th) is the national leader; also attaining top-ten ranks are American University of Sharjah (7th) and Khalifa University (9th, up three places); Khalifa University"s rank of 9th is the highest it has achieved in the history of the rankings. The 160 featured universities can be found in 15 locations. The most-represented location is Saudi Arabia (29 ranked universities). It is followed by Egypt (25), Jordan (21), the United Arab Emirates and Iraq (15), and Lebanon (12). Ben Sowter, director of research at QS, said: "The Arab region is home to a high number of young universities, with 80% of the universities in this year"s ranking under 50 years of age. “Most featured universities now provide programs in all faculty areas and more than half of now have an incorporated medical school. The institutions featured in this ranking are therefore, despite their young age, striving to ensure that their provision is extensive and that they are offering comprehensive curricula." — PRNewswire