From the description of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021:
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 include more than 1,500 universities across 93 countries and regions, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.
The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
The first five top universities are:
1. University of Oxford, United Kingdom
2. Stanford University, United States
3. Harvard University, United States
4. California Institute of Technology, United States
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
For more information:
See also:
Global academic ranking includes 22 African universities (by Wachira Kigotho)
Russia and China rising in university ranking by subject (by Brendan O'Malley)