THE Impact Rankings: the university’s positioning and the methodology

Results of the 2025 ranking at a glance

• between 101st and 200th in the world rankings
• 1st in Italy

The ranking considers universities with regard to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• the University of Bologna's best performance is in ‘SDG16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions ' where it ranks 26th out of 1265;
• in ‘SDG 9 – ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’ it ranks 27th out of 1156;
• in ‘SDG 10 – ‘Reduced Inequalities’ it ranks 73rd out of 1261;
• in 'SDG 17 - Partnerships for the goals' it ranks between 301st and 400th out of 2389.

Methodology

Indicators and number of universities analysed

This year, 2318 universities were ranked. The ranking considers universities with regard to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 1 - No poverty;
• SDG 2 - Zero hunger;
• SDG 3 - Good health and well-being;
• SDG 4 - Quality education;
• SDG 5 - Gender equality;
• SDG 6 - Clean water and sanitation;
• SDG 7 - Affordable and clean energy;
• SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth;
• SDG 9 - Industry, innovation, and infrastructure;
• SDG 10 - Reduced inequalities;
• SDG 11 - Sustainable cities and communities;
• SDG 12 - Responsible consumption and production;
• SDG 13 - Climate action;
• SDG 14 - Life below water;
• SDG 15 - Life on land;
• SDG 16 - Peace, justice and strong institutions;
• SDG 17 - Partnerships for the goals.

They consider the results in the top 3 SDGs, in addition to SDG 17: SDG 17 is given a weight of 22%, while the other 3 UN objectives are given a weight of 26%.