Leuven University on 55 in Times University Ranking

Four Belgian universities now feature in this international league table. The ULB, the Francophone Free University of Brussels, has dropped out of the ranking altogether.

Ghent University is the second Belgian university on 90th place. It falls back from 85th last year. Antwerp University, UAntwerpen, lands the 170th spot - down from 164 last year. The Francophone UCL University is on 171 - up one place.

Researcher Phil Baty: "Good news for Leuven University now heading for the Top 50, but Belgium should be worried about another prestigious university dropping out of the league table. Other Belgian universities too are losing ground. Competition in the global knowledge-based economy is stiff and Belgium will have to make a greater effort to remain competitive with regard to East Asian countries that are becoming stronger."

The California Institute of Technology features on the top spot, followed by Harvard, Oxford, Stanford and Cambridge.

The compilers note that it's western universities hit by cuts that are losing out to Asian unis.