The news is encouraging. The latest edition of the QS Ranking of Best Student Cities shows that Buenos Aires leads the eight Latin American cities ranked , rising in the global rankings and maintaining its position as the top study destination in Latin America. The report highlights this position as an achievement considering “the recent challenges in terms of international appeal and university funding ,” based on the value of the dollar, which is no longer a competitive advantage for foreigners, and the ongoing conflicts over cuts in the education budget since last year.
Seoul was named the world’s best student city , surpassing London for the first time.
The rankingThe city of Buenos Aires rises 10 places on the QS list.
The ranking, released Tuesday from London, places Buenos Aires in a very good position in four of the indicators used by the international
educational quality consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) : performance of the city’s universities, student integration and diversity, student coexistence, and student opinions.
The report indicates that Buenos Aires rose sharply in the 2026 edition of the QS Best Student Cities Ranking, rising to 32nd place, up from 42nd last year , thanks to improvements in two QS indicators and consolidating its position as Latin America’s top study destination. “While Buenos Aires has not yet regained the historic 22nd place it achieved in 2023, this performance marks a return to strong rankings for a city that has faced recent challenges in terms of international attractiveness and university funding,” the report notes.
“Buenos Aires has climbed to 32nd place worldwide, consolidating its position as Latin America’s leading study destination in the QS Best Student Cities Ranking. This rise illustrates the city’s sustained international appeal and academic excellence, led by the UBA, Latin America’s leading university,” said QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter.
Buenos Aires ranked 32nd for 2026. It had finished 42nd the previous year. It surpassed Santiago de Chile, which ranked 50th, the same as the previous year.
Meanwhile, Mexico City ranked 73rd, up from 85th in the 2025 ranking. Bogotá ranked 99th, up from 110th the previous year. São Paulo, on the other hand, dropped to 101st, having ranked 97th in the 2025 ranking. Monterrey climbed one position, from 112th to 111th. Lima climbed from 135th to 126th. Rio de Janeiro climbed two positions, from 146th to 144th.
A change in the global landscape
The 11th edition of the 2026 ranking, which includes 150 cities and districts, was compiled by higher education experts QS and marks a shift in the global landscape: Seoul surpassed London to take the top spot as the world’s best student city.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education of the Republic of Korea, Ju-Ho Lee, stated, “We are deeply honored that Seoul has been named the world’s best student city. This recognition reaffirms the growing global confidence in Korea’s higher education system and highlights Seoul’s distinctive strengths: a powerful combination of academic excellence, cultural richness, innovation, and safety.”
London, which held the top spot for six consecutive years, dropped to third place , largely due to a significant drop in the affordability indicator (what’s available), where it fell 11 places to 137th worldwide. Tokyo came in second .
For its part, Buenos Aires led Latin American cities in four key indicators:
- Performance: This indicator from the QS World University Rankings evaluates the performance of the city’s universities in the most recent edition of the QS World University Rankings. The UBA led the ranking as the best university in Latin America.
- Student integration and diversity: This indicator analyzes how students integrate, how this student mix and integration occur. It reflects the diversity and size of the city’s student population.
- Convenience: This indicator combines the QS Global Student Survey with data on pollution, safety, TripAdvisor ratings, and corruption indices.
- Student Voice: This indicator is based on a QS survey of more than 49,000 students, which compiles overall impressions of the city across aspects such as diversity, inclusion, friendliness, transportation, affordability, nightlife, job opportunities, arts and culture, and sustainability.
“Buenos Aires has dropped one position, falling to 17th in the world in the QS World University Rankings,” the report states. However, it held the highest ranking in Latin America. “This reflects the quality of its universities, particularly the UBA, which became the only Latin American university among the top 100 in the world according to the most recent QS World University Rankings,” the document states.
In the category of student integration and diversity, Buenos Aires again experienced a slight decline, dropping from 52nd to 54th place, but remains the regional leader in this indicator, according to reports. In the Desirability metric, which combines QS’s global survey of prospective students with a wide range of data sources—including pollution levels, safety, TripAdvisor ratings, and corruption indices—Buenos Aires climbed 14 places to 79th, remaining the best-performing city in Latin America.
Furthermore, the city stood out in the “Employer Activity” category, ranking 28th worldwide and 4th in Latin America. This metric is based on responses from more than 82,000 international employers surveyed by QS, as well as a “youth employment bonus” derived from World Bank data, which adjusts scores based on youth employment levels to reward cities that offer strong employment prospects for young graduates.
“Accessibility remains a key factor for prospective students when choosing where to study and live. While Latin America performs well overall on this indicator, Buenos Aires is the lowest-ranked city in the region, at 79th, despite an impressive rise of 44 places,” the report notes.
In the “student opinion” category, a QS survey of more than 49,000 students captures students’ overall impressions of their city, focusing on areas such as diversity, inclusion, friendliness, transportation, affordability, nightlife, job opportunities, arts and culture, and sustainability. Buenos Aires ranks 44th globally, down eight places year-on-year, but still leading Latin America.
Source: La Nación
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