Hyderabad has been ranked 421st among 1,000 cities globally in the 2026 Oxford Economics Global Cities Index, showing significant strength in economic performance and human capital while facing challenges in quality of life and environmental indicators. The comprehensive assessment places the city among mid-tier performers worldwide across multiple development parameters.
The city demonstrated its strongest performance in the Economics category with a 248th rank and in Human Capital with a 241st position. However, Hyderabad ranked considerably lower in other categories, securing 818th place in Quality of Life, 667th in Environment, and 415th in Governance. The index evaluates cities using diverse indicators across five broad categories to assess structural strengths and challenges.
The Economics category examines factors including size and growth of the economy, economic stability, GDP per person, employment growth and economic diversity. The Human Capital assessment considers population growth, age profile, universities, corporate headquarters, educational attainment and the foreign-born population. The Quality of Life category evaluates income equality, income per person, health outcomes and access to amenities, while the Environment index reflects climate-related issues affecting cities.
The Governance measurement is conducted at the national level, meaning cities within the same country receive identical governance scores. The overall ranking combines assessments from all five categories to provide a comprehensive measure of structural advantages, opportunities and challenges facing urban centers worldwide.
Jayesh Ranjan, special Chief Secretary for Metropolitan Area and Urban Development, described Hyderabad’s performance in the index as encouraging, particularly highlighting its strong showing in Economics and Human Capital categories. He noted that the report assessed global cities on scientific parameters and Hyderabad featured across all five major categories. Ranjan stated that Telangana is already among the top-performing states in the country in terms of economy.
