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🎓 Top Research Universities in Belgium

Universities and colleges in Belgium ranked by the total citations their research has received (OpenAlex).

📅 2026📏 citations50 entries🇧🇪 See all of this country’s rankings →
Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (citations, logarithmic scale); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.
1
KU Leuven313,936 papers
32,664,562
2
Ghent University214,845 papers
21,317,881
3
UCLouvain141,712 papers
12,920,353
4
Université Libre de Bruxelles113,549 papers
11,080,178
5
University of Antwerp96,293 papers
10,157,071
6
University of Liège281,217 papers
8,805,821
7
Vrije Universiteit Brussel100,560 papers
8,127,203
8
University of Mons50,311 papers
2,009,652
9
Hasselt University23,047 papers
1,594,522
10
University of Namur18,966 papers
1,274,544
11
Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech12,806 papers
836,689
12
Transnational University Limburg1,588 papers
143,389
13
Royal Military Academy3,269 papers
129,350
14
HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts2,602 papers
127,983
15
Vlerick Business School1,625 papers
89,250
16
Leuven Stem Cell Institute424 papers
55,063
17
Antwerp Management School879 papers
32,528
18
ORSI Academy500 papers
31,444
19
Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherches des Industries Alimentaires et Chimiques315 papers
29,034
20
UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels3,227 papers
27,276
21
Artevelde University College Ghent469 papers
26,863
22
University College West Flanders276 papers
26,592
23
Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts1,097 papers
23,926
24
Thomas More Kempen610 papers
19,284
25
University Colleges Leuven-Limburg351 papers
15,518
26
Antwerp Maritime Academy290 papers
13,138
27
College of Europe1,415 papers
11,649
28
Catholic University College of Bruges–Ostend344 papers
11,392
29
Karel de Grote Hogeschool358 papers
11,219
30
Centre d’Economie rurale167 papers
10,902
31
Odisee, University of Applied Sciences670 papers
10,897
32
Haute École de Bruxelles305 papers
8,193
33
Katholieke Hogeschool Vives418 papers
7,742
34
Hogeschool PXL295 papers
7,267
35
Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool Antwerpen297 papers
6,569
36
Haute École Provinciale de Hainaut Condorcet257 papers
5,409
37
Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven77 papers
4,349
38
Katholieke Hogeschool Limburg71 papers
4,295
39
Vesalius College343 papers
4,215
40
ECAM Institut Supérieur Industriel90 papers
3,576
41
Brussels School of Governance286 papers
3,325
42
Haute École Léonard de Vinci253 papers
3,077
43
Haute École Louvain en Hainaut285 papers
2,713
44
LUCA School of Arts292 papers
2,699
45
Brussels School of International Studies169 papers
2,567
46
Brussels Management School206 papers
2,136
47
NATO Science and Technology Organization48 papers
2,004
48
Technopolis53 papers
1,574
49
Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad13 papers
1,562
50
L’Institut Wallon de l’Évaluation, de la Prospective et de la Statistique152 papers
1,262

Highlights

Within Belgium, KU Leuven ranks first in 2026 with 32,664,562, followed by Ghent University (21,317,881) and UCLouvain (12,920,353).

KU Leuven is 1.5 times higher than Ghent University, the runner-up.

Across 50 entries, values run from 32,664,562 (KU Leuven) to 1,262 (L’Institut Wallon de l’Évaluation, de la Prospective et de la Statistique), with a median of 14,328.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers, 2026. Unit: citations.

Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers · CC0 1.0 (OpenAlex) · fetched Oct 13, 2026 — Counts every citation to papers by authors affiliated with the institution, so large and old universities score high. It measures research impact, not teaching quality.