UZ Leuven climbs again in Newsweek ranking of best hospitals in the world

27 february 2026

For the eighth consecutive year, the American magazine Newsweek and data platform Statista ranked the best hospitals in the world: World’s Best Hospitals 2026

UZ Leuven is the first Belgian hospital, and is ranked 37th, which is three places higher than in 2025 and no less than seven places higher than in 2024. The hospital once again achieves an outstanding score of 91.39%.

Prof. dr. Paul Herijgers, CEO of UZ Leuven: “This year, we are once again extremely proud of our excellent position in the Newsweek ranking, which is a clear reflection of the dedication and excellent care of our employees who break ground every day. The ranking confirms our position among the leaders in Europe and worldwide.  Again a big congratulations to our partner hospitals within the European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA), all of which feature in the global top 100."

Prof. dr. Dirk De Ridder, director of quality at UZ Leuven: ‘We are very proud of the results we have achieved. This is recognition for all our employees who give their best every day. The increase shows that our renewed quality policy, which is closer to the workplace and focuses more on leadership, is bearing fruit.’ 

This is recognition for all our employees who give their best every day
Prof. dr. Dirk De Ridder, director of quality at UZ Leuven

More info about the methodology

Since 2024, the ranking of Belgian hospitals is no longer based primarily on recommendations by external doctors and Google reviews. Greater weight is now given to quality indicators, patient experiences and results reported by the patients themselves. (the so-called patient-reported outcome measures or PROMs).

Prof. dr. Dirk De Ridder: 'The methodology is robust and allows us to compare hospitals internationally. We have made progress at UZ Leuven, particularly in terms of patient-reported outcomes. It is our ambition to continue to grow in this area and to further encourage its use in our operations.'

Last edit: 10 march 2026