Shanghai Ranking: Belgrade University Falls Out of Top 500

For the first time in four years, the University of Belgrade is not among the world’s 500 best ranked higher education institutions. In the 2026 edition of the Shanghai Ranking, it has been placed in the 501st to 600th group, and reactions from the top of government arrived on August 15, all landing on the same verdict: the blockades at the faculties and rector Vladan Djokic are to blame.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali made his case in a post on Instagram.

It is a devastating, sad and worrying fact that the University of Belgrade, after last year’s blockades, has fallen in the Shanghai Ranking, so that it now finds itself in the group of universities ranked 501st to 600th.

Mali described the drop as an outcome with a clear address. “This is a direct consequence of everything the blockaders and University rector Vladan Djokic have done over the past year and this year,” the minister said.

Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabic responded the same day on X, extending the message to the entire higher education system.

Unfortunately, this probably will not be the end, because our universities will struggle to recover from the inaction and sloppiness that Djokic has turned into the rule.

Brnabic also listed the state’s investments in education since 2014:

• four science and technology parks
• three new science institutes
• new faculty buildings at several universities

“I am sorry that the politician Djokic had to destroy the University of Belgrade so that the citizens of Serbia could see, in black and white, what the blockaders and he have done to our society,” the parliament speaker said. She also criticized him for not responding to media requests to explain the result.

How the University itself reads the outcome

A calmer tone came from Student Square. The University of Belgrade said its continued presence on the Shanghai Ranking confirms its international standing and that it views the ranking as an incentive to keep working on research output, international cooperation and conditions for developing new generations of researchers. The institution also pointed out that the placement is affected by the quality of education and teaching staff, alongside research performance.

Brnabic responded to that explanation with a new post. “Being ranked lower is an incentive for them? If they ran the country, every closed factory, every cut to wages and pensions, every defeat for Serbia would be an incentive for them to keep going the same way,” she wrote.

Rector Djokic has not commented on the ranking.

What does the Shanghai Ranking actually measure?

The ranking does not measure the number of students or faculties, but scientific output. University professor Vladimir Vuletic said the criteria for a place on the list are primarily tied to the publication of papers and how often they are cited, and that quality research requires stability and continuity of work. The University of Belgrade has no researcher this year in the group of highly cited scientists, which further lowered its score.

A comparison with earlier editions shows the decline did not start this season. Ten years ago the University of Belgrade was ranked in the 201st to 300th group, two brackets above where it stands today. The Center for World University Rankings shows a similar trend: the university was 348th in 2021 and 387th in 2025.

The standoff between the government and the rector has lasted for months. The Serbian government previously removed him from membership on one governing board, and Djokic has remained the main target of criticism from the ruling coalition throughout.

There is no change at the top of the Shanghai Ranking, with Harvard holding on to first place. Sixteen Chinese universities are among the top 100.

Despite all the reactions, neither the government nor the University has announced any concrete steps to bring the University of Belgrade back into the top 500 group.