Havard tops university listings

American and British universities made up nearly half of the top 100 universities in the world while the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) ranked 57th in rankings compiled by the Times Higher Education Supplement, published today.

The two countries shared the top 13 universities, with the United States leading the way with 33 universities in the top 100. Britain was second with 15, while Australia and the Netherlands were next with seven each. Switzerland and France followed with five, while Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and Germany each had three.

China and India, the world's two most populous countries, had two apiece.

While the IITs have slipped seven notches from last year's 50, the IIMs have climbed 16 rungs from No. 84 last year. JNU is ranked 183, up nine places from 2005. It was not considered a top-200 institution at all in 2004.

Singapore, New Zealand and Belgium, Denmark, South Korea, Mexico, Ireland, Austria and Russia all had one university in the top 100.

Harvard University in Massachusetts topped the poll, with Cambridge and Oxford in England coming second and third. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University tied for fourth, with Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology ranking sixth and seventh.

The University of California at Berkeley was eighth, Imperial College London was ninth, and Princeton University completed the top 10.

The highest-ranking Asian university was Beijing University, coming in at 15th -- also the highest rank for a non-US or British institution.

Australian National University was Australia's best at 16th, while France's Ecole Normale Superieure was continental Europe's best at 18th.