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University Directory · Europe & Central Asia

Top 25 universities in Spain

The 25 leading universities and higher education institutions in Spain, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

25 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    Universitat de Barcelona (UB)

    Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    • 204,011 research works
    • 18.6 million citations
    • h-index 1,048
  2. 2

    Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

    Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain

    • 171,459 research works
    • 13.2 million citations
    • h-index 783
  3. 3

    Universitat de València (UV)

    Valencia, Spain

    • 137,301 research works
    • 12.2 million citations
    • h-index 847
  4. 4

    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)

    Madrid, Spain

    • 123,570 research works
    • 9.5 million citations
    • h-index 705
  5. 5

    Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)

    Madrid, Spain

    • 178,624 research works
    • 9 million citations
    • h-index 656
  6. 6

    Universidad de Granada (UGR)

    Granada, Andalusia, Spain

    • 125,211 research works
    • 7.2 million citations
    • h-index 602
  7. 7

    Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC)

    Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain

    • 77,348 research works
    • 5.8 million citations
    • h-index 570
  8. 8

    University of the Basque Country (EHU)

    Leioa, Basque Country, Spain

    • 103,066 research works
    • 5.7 million citations
    • h-index 508
  9. 9

    Universidad de Sevilla (US)

    Seville, Andalusia, Spain

    • 116,252 research works
    • 5.4 million citations
    • h-index 519
  10. 10

    Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

    Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    • 52,558 research works
    • 5.1 million citations
    • h-index 745
  11. 11

    Universidad de Zaragoza (UNIZAR)

    Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain

    • 87,544 research works
    • 4.9 million citations
    • h-index 510
  12. 12

    Universidad de Cantabria (UC)

    Santander, Cantabria, Spain

    • 34,099 research works
    • 4.7 million citations
    • h-index 632
  13. 13

    Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)

    Valencia, Spain

    • 80,054 research works
    • 4.7 million citations
    • h-index 487
  14. 14

    Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)

    Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    • 92,226 research works
    • 4.3 million citations
    • h-index 480
  15. 15

    Universidad de Oviedo (UO)

    Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

    • 59,972 research works
    • 4.2 million citations
    • h-index 509
  16. 16

    Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)

    Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    • 16,147 research works
    • 3.7 million citations
    • h-index 621
  17. 17

    Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)

    Madrid, Spain

    • 79,523 research works
    • 3.4 million citations
    • h-index 432
  18. 18

    Universidad de Navarra (UNAV)

    Pamplona, Navarre, Spain

    • 48,903 research works
    • 3.4 million citations
    • h-index 476
  19. 19

    Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)

    Salamanca, Castille and León, Spain

    • 66,321 research works
    • 3 million citations
    • h-index 432
  20. 20

    Universidad de Murcia (UMU)

    Murcia, Spain

    • 61,308 research works
    • 2.9 million citations
    • h-index 392
  21. 21

    Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV)

    Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

    • 44,101 research works
    • 2.9 million citations
    • h-index 444
  22. 22

    University of Córdoba (UCO)

    Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain

    • 47,262 research works
    • 2.8 million citations
    • h-index 410
  23. 23

    Universidade de Vigo (UVIGO)

    Vigo, Galicia, Spain

    • 47,518 research works
    • 2.8 million citations
    • h-index 437
  24. 24

    Universidad de La Laguna (ULL)

    San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain

    • 43,759 research works
    • 2.7 million citations
    • h-index 473
  25. 25

    Universidad de Málaga (UMA)

    Málaga, Andalusia, Spain

    • 59,326 research works
    • 2.6 million citations
    • h-index 351

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).

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