America remains the dominant force in the business-school world, according to The Economist's latest ranking of full-time MBA programmes. Fourteen of the top 20 schools in our latest ranking are based in the United States, including the number one programme at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

It is the sixth time in seven years that Chicago has topped our ranking, which is based on a mixture of hard data and subjective marks given by the students. Chicago students give the school glowing reviews for its career service, faculty and facilities. This is not surprising given the school is home to seven Nobel laureates, maintains impressive campuses in London and Hong Kong as well as Chicago, and that 98% of its students find jobs within three months of graduation. Virginia (Darden), Dartmouth (Tuck) and Harvard take the next three places.

American schools are under pressure

Despite their dominance, American business schools are under pressure, in particular because of the country's strict visa requirements. It may seem obvious that a nation would wish to attract and retain the brightest young minds to work in its companies. Yet, America now places tough restrictions on foreign students who want to stay and work in the country after they study.  Unsurprisingly, countries with a more welcoming attitude, such as Canada, are seeing applications from prospective international students rise while those to the US fall.

Another beneficiary of this might be Asia. The proportion of students applying to an Asian business school has doubled to 4.4%. Eight-and-a-half Asian business schools now make it into The Economist ranking of full-time programmes (INSEAD has dual campuses in France and Singapore). This is likely to continue to rise as China, in particular, looks to improve its business schools to meet demand for local managers.