THE 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), released by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy on Saturday, shows that the University of Zagreb has retained its position between 401st and 500th place on the ranking.

This proves that Zagreb's tertiary education institution enjoys a status of an internationally competitive and excellent university, reads a press release issued by this oldest university in Croatia.

The ranking is topped by Harvard University, which is thus the top performer for 18 years.

Another U.S. university, Stanford, ranks second, while the University of Cambridge ranks third, just as they were last year.

Fifteen (15) universities in the USA, three British universities and a French and a Swiss university make the top 20 places.

Since 2003, ARWU has been presenting the world top universities annually based on transparent methodology and objective third-party data. It has been recognized as the precursor of global university rankings and the most trustworthy one. This year, the best 1000 universities in the world are published.

Six universities make their first-ever appearances in the Top 100, including four French ones, namely Paris-Saclay University(14th), PSL University(36th), University of Paris(65th) and Université Grenoble Alpes(99th), and two Chinese ones, namely the University of Science and Technology of China(73th) and Fudan University(100th). Beijing Jiaotong University and other 14 universities enter into the Top 500 list for the first time. More than 40 universities enter into Top 1000 list for the first time, reads the press release issued by  ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.