A North East university has again been named as one of the world's top 200 - though it has fallen 19 places since the previous year.
Durham University has been been ranked 133 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2020. In 2019, the institution was placed at 114.
Newcastle University has also dropped from 171 in 2019 to between 201-250 in 2020.
However Northumbria has seen an improvement, going up from the 401-500 banding to 351-400.
Meanwhile, Oxford has kept its world number one position for the fourth year in a row, with an outstanding teaching environment, international outlook and research environment.
Cambridge dropped from second to third having been overtaken by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), while Imperial College London, University College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science all fell one place but remain in the global top 30.
Now in its 16th year, the rankings include over 1,300 universities from 92 countries, making it the largest higher education analysis to date.
The UK has 28 institutions in the top 200, while the USA continues to dominate the charts, with 60 in the top 200.
And Japan has overtaken the UK as the second most-represented country in the world.
Phil Baty, THE chief knowledge officer, said: "Historically the UK has punched well above its weight with regards to higher education, being home to a huge number of top-quality institutions.
"In recent years, however, increasingly strong competition from Asian institutions has begun to squeeze the UK out of its traditional top spots.
"Last year, the UK was displaced as the second most-represented country overall by Japan and the Asian nation further extends its lead this year.
"Meanwhile, the majority of UK universities in the top 200 have declined – although the country is still home to the best university in the world, the University of Oxford.
"British universities have long been able to attract the most talented academics and students from across the world, but there are signs that this is becoming more difficult ahead of Brexit.
"If the UK starts to withdraw from the international stage its position in the upper echelons of the rankings will suffer."
The top 10 universities in the world (Times Higher Education)
1. University of Oxford - UK
2. California Institute of Technology - USA
3. University of Cambridge - UK
4. Stanford University -USA
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology - USA
6. Princeton University - USA
7. Harvard University - USA
8. Yale University - USA
9. University of Chicago - USA
10. Imperial College London - UK
