What are the best business schools in Europe? Breaking down the 2025 Financial Times Ranking

TL;DR 

• French business school INSEAD retains the rank of best business school in Europe, according to the 2025 Financial Times ranking
• HEC Paris (France), London Business School (UK), ESCP Business School (France), and IESE Business School (Spain) round off the top five European schools
• France has the most schools in the Financial Times ranking (26), with the UK (18), Germany (10), Spain (8), and Portugal (6) following

Having ranked as low as 18th in 2023, INSEAD has retained first place for a second year running in the annual ranking of Europe’s best business schools, produced by the Financial Times (FT).

The French school is followed by HEC Paris, which recently spent five years in first place. London Business School, France’s ESCP Business School and Spain’s IESE Business School round off the top five, which is mostly unchanged from last year.

INSEAD is one of six French schools in the top 10, with ESSEC Business School (seventh) and emlyon business school (10th) both improving their position this year. EDHEC Business School fell two places from seventh to ninth.

Italy’s SDA Bocconi (sixth) and Switzerland’s University of St.Gallen (10th) rounded off this year’s top 10.

Although INSEAD had finished 18th in 2023, that was largely because its EMBA and MiM programs were excluded from the ranking that year. In 2025, its MBA, EMBA, and MiM programs all ranked among the top five in Europe.

The FT European Business Schools Ranking is based on the combined performance of Europe’s leading schools across the FT’s individual program rankings. MBA, EMBA, and MiM rankings each comprise 25% of a school's overall performance, while executive education and custom programs make up the remaining 25%.

Best business schools in Europe: Top-ranked MBAs, EMBAs & MiMs

(©London Business School / via Facebook)

French business schools performed strongly across the 2025 FT ranking. Among the 100 European schools taking part, 26 are based in France─more than any other country. The UK has 18 schools in the list, Germany has 10, Spain has eight and Portugal has six.

IESE Business School finished top of the European MBA ranking, followed by INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, London Business School, and Esade.

Despite not making the top five of the overall ranking, SDA Bocconi remains near the top partly due to its leading average MBA alumni salary of $217,000. The MBA programs at London Business School, INSEAD, and Esade were the only other European programs with a average graduate salaries above $200k.

Europe is renowned for the strength of its Master in Management programs. Across the FT’s Global MiM Ranking published in September of this year, the top 10 consisted almost entirely of European business schools.

In the European MiM Ranking released as part of the overall FT list, University of St.Gallen ranks first, followed by HEC Paris in second and INSEAD in third.

In the EMBA ranking, France’s ESCP Business School claimed the top spot in Europe. Joint programs offered by Skema, HEC Paris and INSEAD followed closely behind.

READ: Financial Times Full-Time MBA Ranking

Best European business schools: Diversity

The FT European list also ranks business schools according to their diversity, including gender balance and the proportion of international faculty.

A total of 19 schools in the list reported at least a 50:50 gender split among faculty, with France’s ESDES Business School having the highest proportion of female faculty of any school in Europe (62%).

In contrast, the University of Zurich had the lowest proportion of female faculty (21%). At HHL Leipzig, INSEAD, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and University of Cologne, less than one-quarter of faculty are female.

France’s Grenoble Ecole de Management has the highest proportion of international faculty in Europe (100%). IMD, Neoma Business School, and University of Strathclyde Business School were the only other institutions with an international faculty ratio of 95% or above.

At the other end of the scale, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, the University of Porto, Bologna Business School, and the University of Ljubljana School of Economics and Business all had an international faculty ratio of less than 10%.

READ: Financial Times Master in Management Ranking

Best business schools in Europe: Applications on the rise

The FT ranking comes after our 2025 Application Trends Survey revealed an increase in business school applications, with applications to European programs outpacing the global average.

The report revealed an 11% increase in applications to business masters programs in Europe (excluding the UK), compared to a 7% increase globally.

Best business schools in Europe