India’s top cities are among the world’s worst performers on quality of life. Several rank below 775 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2026, covering 1,000 cities. Their stronger economic and human capital results help lift overall rankings. Meanwhile, if you are curious to know about the ‘best cities’ in the world, here they are.
Globally, , Australia, ranks highest in quality-of-life rankings. Bergen in Norway takes second place, followed by Singapore in third.
Other top cities in this category include Grenoble (France), Bern (Switzerland) and Oslo (Norway). Luxembourg City (Luxembourg), Dresden (Germany), Ghent (Belgium) and Paris (France) complete the Top 10 list.
Their leading positions stand in contrast to the weaker results of India’s highest-ranked cities. None of India’s Top 10 overall cities ranked in the top 500 for quality of life.
While Singapore leads in the South Asia region, the second-ranked Kuala Lumpur stands way down on the list at 283. The third spot in South Asia goes to Malacca, Malaysia, which ranks 321st globally.
Other top cities in this region include Haiphong (Vietnam), Kuching (Malaysia), Bangkok (Thailand), Georgetown (Malaysia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).
leads the overall global rankings, followed by London and Paris. New York also ranks first in economics. Los Angeles ranks second in that category while San Jose came third. All three economic leaders are cities in the United States.
London tops the human capital rankings. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates comes second, followed by Tokyo in Japan. Environmental rankings have another set of leaders. Honolulu, United States, ranks first, followed by Fortaleza, Brazil. Bergen secures third place, alongside its second position in quality of life.
In governance, Denmark’s Copenhagen and Aarhus share the first place. Auckland in New Zealand ranks third.
The different leaders across categories underline the varied strengths of cities. India’s results similarly show that stronger overall positions do not guarantee better quality of life.
Only 91 Indian cities featured in the index. Delhi leads India’s overall rankings at 268, followed by Bengaluru at 311. Mumbai ranks 330 while Chennai stands at 381.
and Pune followed at 421 and 427, respectively. Thrissur, Kochi, Kolkata and Kozhikode complete India’s Top 10. Delhi’s quality-of-life rank is 781, despite ranking 13th in human capital. Its economic rank is 116, the strongest among India’s top cities.
However, Delhi ranks 915th in environment, the weakest within this Indian group. These positions show how overall rankings can conceal weaknesses in particular areas.
