...and not worth a sou more.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University recently released its pretigous annual ranking of the world's top 500 universities for 2005. The highest French ranking is Université Pierre et Marie Curie at 46th. In the top 100 France holds only 4 positions (46th, 61st, 92nd, and 93rd).

If France were the benchmark by population (60,656,178) then one might expect America (295,734,134) to hold 20 spots in the top 100. In fact, America holds 53 top 100 spots, 8 in the top 10, and 168 overall.

Comparably sized Britain (60,441,457) holds almost 3x more spots than France with 11 top 100 rankings, of which 2 are in top 10. Overall the UK holds 40 spots in the top 500.

France managed only 21 spots in the top 500. Two less than Canada.

PFFT (What is this?): Making a mark in the world 2 | Rayonnement français 2