Alastair Cook's men produced a fine turnaround after losing the second Test to win the final three matches, sealing a series win with an emphatic innings and 244-run victory in the finale at The Oval last Sunday.
That triumph has seen England move two places back into the top three behind South Africa and Australia, while India drop from fourth to fifth.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have risen to fourth following their 2-0 series win over Pakistan, who slip to sixth on the back of their 105-run defeat in the second Test in Colombo.
Mahela Jayawardene, who brought his storied Test career to an end with that victory at the Sinhalese Sports Club, ends his time in the five-day game - which saw him score 11,814 runs in 149 Tests - at 15 in the individual batting rankings.
His fellow Sri Lankan Rangana Herath is up to third in the bowling standings after the spinner finished the series with Pakistan as the leading wicket taker, claiming 23 scalps in total.
England's Joe Root demonstrated why he is fast becoming regarded as one of the best young batsmen in Test cricket, scoring three 50s and two centuries to end the series against India as the top run scorer with 518 to his name.
And the 23-year-old has been duly rewarded for his performance, breaking into the top 10 of the batting rankings by jumping five places to ninth.