Four cities in India have been ranked among the best for students in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Cities Rankings 2025 that has a list of 150 cities. Delhi is at 111th spot, followed by Mumbai at 113, Bengaluru at 130 and Chennai at 140. The rankings show that Delhi and Bengaluru have made significant leap in the rankings – by 21 and 17 places respectively. The QS rankings take into consideration six indicators like university ranking, student mix, employer activity, desirability, affordability and student view. When it comes to affordability, Delhi comes on top among the Indian cities.
All the four cities score less than 30 in desirability and high on employer activity.
On its website, QS Rankings said that to be included in the list, each city must have a population of over 250,000, and be home to at least two universities featured in the most recent of their rankings.
Globally, London retained its top spot for sixth year in a row, followed by Tokyo and Seoul. Munich is at number four, while Melbourne at number 5. Sydney, Paris, Zurich and Berlin are at number 6, 7, 8 and 9. Montreal is at number 10.
According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) released by Ministry of Education, the total number of foreign students in Indian institutions was around 46,000 in 2021-22.
A majority of these foreign students are from Nepal, followed by Afghanistan.
Around three quarters of foreign students are enrolled in undergraduate courses, and the most popular subjects for this group are Technology, Business Administration, Science and Engineering.
India also has the world’s second largest higher education system with over 58,000 higher education institutions. Nearly 2,400 higher education institutions were added during 2021-22, as per the government.
