Overview

• The ranking assessed 150 cities on six indicators—desirability, affordability, student mix, employer activity, university rankings and student voice—with 10 of the top 20 in Asia-Pacific.
• Seoul climbed from third to first place by earning a perfect 100-point score in the university rankings indicator and scoring highly in desirability and employer activity.
• Tokyo held second place as London fell to third after sliding to 137th in affordability, ending its six-year run at the top.
• Delhi secured the world’s top affordability score with 96.5 points, underscoring the growing weight of living costs in student decision-making.
• Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai jumped 15, 22 and 12 places respectively—reentering global top tiers and reflecting gains under India’s National Education Policy 2020.