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University Directory · Middle East & North Africa

Top 5 universities in Palestine

The 5 leading universities and higher education institutions in Palestine, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

5 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    An-Najah National University

    Nablus, West Bank, Palestine

    • 9,753 research works
    • 301 thousand citations
    • h-index 168
  2. 2

    Birzeit University (BZU)

    Birzeit, West Bank, Palestine

    • 3,839 research works
    • 171 thousand citations
    • h-index 142
  3. 3

    Al-Quds University (AQU)

    East Jerusalem, West Bank, Palestine

    • 5,540 research works
    • 145 thousand citations
    • h-index 117
  4. 4

    Islamic University of Gaza (IUG)

    Gaza, Palestine

    • 4,627 research works
    • 104 thousand citations
    • h-index 114
  5. 5

    Al-Azhar University – Gaza

    Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine

    • 2,351 research works
    • 54 thousand citations
    • h-index 90

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

Being listed is not an endorsement, and listings are not paid for. Spotted a mistake? Send a correction.