The World’s Best Cities: See the world’s top rankings for quality of life, environment and more | Today’s news
India’s best cities are among the world’s worst cities in terms of quality of life. Several ranked below 775 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2026, which includes 1,000 cities. Their better economic and human capital results help lift the overall ranking. In the meantime, if you’re wondering about the “best cities” in the world, here they are.
Globally, Australia’s Canberra ranks highest in the ranking of quality of life. Bergen, Norway is in second place, and Singapore is third.
Other leading cities in this category include Grenoble (France), Bern (Switzerland) and Oslo (Norway). Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Dresden (Germany), Ghent (Belgium) and Paris (France) round out the Top 10.
Their leading positions contrast with the weaker results of India’s highest-ranking cities. None of the top 10 Indian cities ranked in the top 500 cities for quality of life.
While Singapore leads the South Asia region, second-ranked Kuala Lumpur is listed at 283. Third in South Asia is Malacca, Malaysia, which is ranked 321st globally.
Other leading cities in the region include Haiphong (Vietnam), Kuching (Malaysia), Bangkok (Thailand), Georgetown (Malaysia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).
New York leads the overall global ranking, followed by London and Paris. New York also ranks first in the economy. Los Angeles ranks second in that category, while San Jose finished third. All three economic leaders are cities in the United States.
London tops the human capital rankings. In second place is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, followed by Tokyo, Japan. The environmental charts have another set of leaders. Honolulu, United States, is number one, followed by Fortaleza, Brazil. Bergen secures third place alongside second place in quality of life.
Denmark’s Copenhagen and Aarhus share the first place in public administration. Auckland, New Zealand is in third place.
Different leaders across categories highlight different strengths of cities. India’s results similarly show that stronger overall positions do not guarantee a better quality of life.
Top Indian cities
Only 91 Indian cities appeared in the index. Delhi leads India’s overall ranking at 268, followed by Bengaluru at 311. Mumbai is at 330, while Chennai is at 381.
Hyderabad and Pune followed at 421 and 427. Thrissur, Kochi, Kolkata and Kozhikode complete India’s top 10. Delhi has a quality of life rating of 781 despite being ranked 13th in human capital. Its economic rank is 116, the strongest among leading Indian cities.
However, Delhi ranks 915th in the environment, the weakest within this Indian group. These rankings show how an overall rating can hide weaknesses in specific areas.
