India’s top cities among the worst in the world in quality of life: Check how Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and others fare
All 10 of India’s highest-ranked cities placed within the top 500 of Oxford Economics’ 2026 Global Cities Index.
INDIAN cities performed better in economic and human capital outcomes than in quality-of-life and environmental outcomes. Oxford Economics' Global Cities Index 2026 included 91 Indian cities among the world's 1,000 largest.
Even India's 10 highest-ranked cities showed weaknesses in living conditions and environmental performance. Stronger rankings in economic and human capital helped improve their overall positions. All 10 are featured within the top 500.
Delhi led the Indian cities, securing an overall rank of 268. Its strongest result was in human capital, where it ranked 13. Delhi also ranked 116 in economics, the best among these 10 Indian cities.
However, its quality-of-life rank was 781. Its environmental rank was 915, the weakest in this group.
Bengaluru and Mumbai
Bengaluru came next, with an overall rank of 311. It ranked 176 in economics and 106 in human capital. Its quality of life position was 775 while its environment rank was 528.
Mumbai followed at 330 overall. The city ranked 170th in economics and 77th in human capital. Its quality-of-life and environment rankings were 817 and 782, respectively.
Chennai and Hyderabad
Chennai secured an overall rank of 381. It ranked 263rd in economics and 122nd in human capital. However, Chennai ranked 854 in quality of life, the poorest result among these cities. Its environment rank was 633.
Hyderabad ranked 421 overall, with positions of 248 in economics and 241 in human capital. It ranked 818 for quality of life and 657 for environment.
Pune stood at 427 overall. Its economic rank was 297 while its human capital position was 139. The city ranked 853 in quality of life and 731 in environment. These results reflected the wider gap between economic strengths and everyday living conditions.
Thrissur secured an overall rank of 477. It ranked 334 in economics and 611 in human capital. However, it performed better than the other nine cities in quality of life and environment. Its respective ranks were 584 and 468. Thrissur's human capital ranking was the weakest among the ten cities.
Kochi followed at 489 overall, ranking 404 in economics and 419 in human capital. Its quality of life rank was 701, while its environment position was 607.
Kolkata stood at 496 overall. It ranked 245 in economics and 305 in human capital. Its quality-of-life and environment positions were 843 and 854, respectively.
Kozhikode completed the Indian top 10, securing an overall rank of 499. It ranked 407 in economics and 456 in human capital. Its quality of life position was 710 while its environment rank was 570.
