(UK) 8th in 2015 Getty Images The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 10. University of Chicago (USA) 10th in 2015 The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 11. Princeton University (USA) 11th in 2015 Wikimedia Commons The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 12. National University of Singapore (Singapore) 12th in 2015 National University of Singapore/Facebook The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 13. Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) 13th in 2015 The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 14. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne (Switzerland) 14th in 2015 The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 15. Yale University (USA) 15th in 2015 The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 16. Cornell University (USA)17th in 2015 sach1tb/Wiki Commons The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 17. Johns Hopkins University (USA) 16th in 2015 Lester Spence/WikimediaCommons The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 18. University of Pennsylvania (USA) 18th in 2015 Bryan Y.W. Shin/Wiki Commons The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 19. University of Edinburgh (UK) 21st in 2015 The top 20 universities in the world in 2016 20. Columbia University (USA) 22nd in 2015

However, the evidence has suggested the US is stretching its lead and Asian universities are making inroads. For the first time since the rankings began 12 years ago, US universities hold all top three positions.

The 20 hardest universities to get into

Of the 48 UK universities in the top-400, only six have