Latvian Universities rank in "emerging" world's top 300

The Times Higher Education Emerging Economies University Rankings 2019 includes only institutions in countries classified by the FTSE as “advanced emerging”, “secondary emerging” or “frontier” - meaning in essence that Western Europe, North America and a few other countries such as Australia and New Zealand are excluded. Latvia is classed as a "frontier" country alongside its Baltic neighbors and places such as Nigeria, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Two Latvian universities are included in the rankings. Riga Technical University (RTU) outperforms LU by securing a place in the top 200, achieving a ranking of 196. Worldwide it is ranked in a bunch of universities between 801st and 1000th place.

In the previous evaluation, RTU ranked in 251st-300th. place. RTU is the only one of the universities in the Baltic States whose assessment has improved.

"RTU's rise in the ranking has been due to an increase in scientific activity - RTU scientists are the most active researchers in the important Scopus database compared to other Latvian higher education institutions, providing a major contribution to the economy. However, more important than quantity is that our publications have become more qualitative. International recognition and quotation have grown, and our performance in science is increasingly being appreciated, said RTU's Juris Iljins in response to the ranking announcement.

LU meanwhile is part of a batch of universities under the blanket classification of 251st-300th place in the emerging world and also 801st and 1000th place worldwide.

The highest-ranked university in the Baltic states is the University of Tartu (30th place in emerging countries, 310st-350th place worldwide).

You can explore the full methodology used and the rankings themselves at the Times Higher Education website.