A ranking organisation said Hong Kong remains one of the world’s most knowledge-intensive cities, despite four of the city's universities falling in a list of the world’s top tertiary institutions.

According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) fell from the 31st place in its 2023 edition, to 35th.

Chinese University (CUHK) dropped out of the top 50 to 53rd, while the University of Science and Technology (HKUST) went down from 58th place to 64th.

Polytechnic University (PolyU) also fell from 79th place to 87th in the latest report.

City University, however, bucked the trend and moved up from 99th place to 82nd.

Times Higher Education's chief global affairs officer, Phil Baty, said Hong Kong remains one of the world's top places for research quality and innovation, with five universities still in the top 100.

“Hong Kong has maintained its status as one of the world’s most knowledge-intensive places, with an exceptionally high concentration of world class universities creating a vibrant international hub for research and innovation,” he said.

“Hong Kong is at the very heart of a thriving global knowledge hub in the Greater Bay Area, providing a bridge between East and West to draw-in international talent and driving the knowledge economy.”

In response, HKU said it is committed to delivering exceptional education for its students.

“By implementing our visionary blueprint for the University, we are confident that our international reputation will continue to flourish,” it said.

CUHK also said it will continue to strive for excellence in research, education and innovation, regardless of its performance in various league tables.

PolyU and HKUST, meanwhile, said they will take the findings as reference and identify areas for improvement.

The ranking lists 1,904 universities in 108 countries and regions.

Asia's top universities are Tsinghua University in 12th place, followed by Peking University in 14th and the National University of Singapore, which is ranked 19th.

Oxford University retained its top position in the global ranking for the eighth year, followed by Stanford University in second place. Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in third.