In a recently released Best Global Universities Rankings 2021, 13 Pakistani universities were included with Quaid-i-Azam University being the top-ranked Pakistani institute out of 1,678 universities around the world.
In addition, Aga Khan University, COMSATS University Islamabad, National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Faisalabad University of Agriculture are the top five Pakistani universities in the world rankings.
Here is the list of the Pakistani Universities in order of their ranking in the Best Global Universities.
| Rank | University | Global Score |
| 1. | Quaid-i-Azam University | 53.3 |
| 2. | Aga Khan University | 51.1 |
| 3. | COMSATS University Islamabad | 47.9 |
| 4. | National University of Sciences & Technology | 36.2 |
| 5. | University of Agriculture Faisalabad | 35.6 |
| 6. | University of Peshawar | 33.8 |
| 7. | University of Punjab | 29.6 |
| 8. | Government College University Faisalabad | 28.9 |
| 9. | Bahauddin Zakariya University | 27.0 |
| 10. | University of Karachi | 23.8 |
| 11. | Arid Agriculture University | N/A |
| 12. | UET Lahore | N/A |
| 13. | UET Taxila | N/A |
When compiling rankings each year the Best Global Universities rankings consider the following indicators:
- Reputation in Global Science
- Regional Reputation for Science
- The Magazines
- Books
- The Conferences
- Normalized Effect of citation
- Total subpoenas
- The number of articles that are among the 10% most cited
- The proportion of overall publications that are among the 10% most cited
- Governmental cooperation, according to the country
- Global cooperation, international collaboration
- Amount of articles that are among the most cited
