E-Paper
South Korea's Seoul ranked world's most student-friendly city; these Indian cities also on list
Tokyo has been ranked second, while London occupies the third spot on the 2026 QS Best Student Cities list.
Four Indian cities have been ranked in the 2026 QS Best Student Cities, a list which has been topped by South Korea's Seoul.
Seoul topped the list released by QS Rankings, dislodging London, which had been ranking first for the past six years. Tokyo has been ranked second, while London occupies the third spot on the list.
London's slip is largely due to a drop in the ‘affordability’ indicator, wherein the city now ranks 137th globally.
The list considers a range of factors, including affordability, desirability and also takes the opinions of students, according to the QS Rankings website.
The list is compiled by London-based QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education consultancy which assesses 150 cities around the world.
Four Indian cities among world's most student-friendly
Four Indian cities have been ranked among the world's top 130 cities for students. These include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.
All four have improved their positions from the previous years' rankings. Mumbai, which moved up 15 rankings from the past year, has re-entered the top 100 to reach the 98th position.
Meanwhile, Delhi also climbed up seven spots to rank 104th. The Capital city also received the highest score on the affordability scale, thus making it the most affordable city for students globally.
Among the four cities, Bengaluru witnessed the biggest improvement, moving up 22 places to secure the 108th position. Chennai, which ranked 128th, climbed up 12 positions.
In the ‘Employer Activity’ factor, Delhi and Mumbai have been ranked among the world's top 50 cities, thus indicating more graduate employment opportunities. Bengaluru marked the most improvement in this category, jumping up 41 places to the 59th spot. Chennai also registered a gain of 29 places in the category.
Speaking about India's presence in the rankings, QS CEO Jessica Turner said it reflects “a structural shift” in the country's higher education ecosystem.
“As we approach the fifth anniversary of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, its focus on global engagement, quality enhancement, and student-centric learning is starting to bear fruit on the international stage,” PTI news agency quoted Turner as saying.
