Comprehensive Analysis of the Global Standing of Universities, Research Performance, and the Impact of Scholarly Journals: Pakistan’s Academic and Research Landscape 2026

Abstract

Academic institutes and innovative research play a pivotal role in knowledge, skills, professionalism, health, economic progress, and the sustainable development of nations. On June 17, 2026, QS World University Rankings released the ranking of global universities. Pakistan has 278 universities, 163 in the public sector and 115 in the private sector. Among these universities, only 02 were ranked in the top 500: Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, ranked 381st, and the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Islamabad, 384th. On the same date, June 17, 2026, Web of Science, Clarivate, released the Journal Citation Report (JCR) of scholarly journals. Worldwide, Clarivate has indexed 22,643 journals from 113 countries. In Pakistan, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has 723 journals; however, only 34 are indexed in Web of Science: 10 in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and 24 in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). Pakistan Veterinary Journal achieved an impact factor (IF) of 6.1 and a first-quartile ranking, while Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences (PJMS) achieved an IF of 1.6 and a second-quartile ranking. In the medical sciences, the highest H-index was achieved by the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences (51) and the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association (44). Pakistan needs to increase educational budget for universities to improve the quality education, research culture and support academic journals in publishing innovative, knowledge-sharing content.