Three Taiwanese cities — Taipei, Hsinchu and Tainan — have made the list of 100 best cities for students, which was released on Tuesday by UK-based higher education information provider Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
Taipei ranked 26th in the QS Best Student Cities 2025 list, while Hsinchu was 84th and Tainan 97th.
In the rankings, Tainan was on a par with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Toulouse, France.
Photo: CNA
The 12th edition of the QS Best Student Cities index assessed 150 major international study locations, including five cities in Taiwan, based on six indicators: the ranking of a city’s universities, student mix, desirability, employer activity, affordability and student views.
In addition to the three Taiwanese cities featured in the top 100 list, Taichung and Taoyuan were also included in the rankings.
Taichung ranked 117th, the same as Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and Taoyuan tied for 126th place with Lima.
QS ranked cities with a population of more 250,000 and at least two universities in the QS World University Ranking.
The QS Best Student Cities index took feedback from 100,000 students for the desirability and student views categories.
Taiwan ranked high in the affordability category thanks to low tuition fees and cost of living, with Tainan fifth and Taoyuan sixth.
In the employer activity category, Taipei ranked the best among Taiwanese cities, taking 50th place, followed by Hsinchu in 77th place.
For desirability, Taipei ranked 56th, the best of all cities in Taiwan, followed by Tainan in 95th, Taoyuan in 101st, Taichung 103rd, and Hsinchu 105th.
The top 10 metropolises in the index were London, Tokyo, Seoul, Munich, Melbourne, Sydney, Paris, Zurich, Berlin and Montreal.
London remained the world’s best student city for the sixth consecutive edition.
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