Delhi Scores 66.7 on Education and 35.4 on Air: What the Liveability Index Actually Measures
India's four ranked cities sit between 120 and 127 of 173 in the EIU's 2026 index — and the sub-scores locate the failure precisely
What happened
Ranking stories invite the laziest kind of answer — outrage at the number, a paragraph on pollution, a call for better planning. The examinable material is one level down. This index publishes its weights and its category scores, which means you can say precisely which component drags Indian cities down and which does not, and you can interrogate whether an index built for expatriate postings measures what matters to the people who actually live in these cities.
New Delhi's Scorecard — Where the Deficit Sits
New Delhi by Category (score /100)
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, Global Liveability Index 2026
The Global Liveability Index is published annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research arm of the Economist Group.
●The 2026 edition covers 173 cities and assesses each on 30 qualitative and quantitative indicators, aggregated into five weighted categories: stability (25 per cent), culture and environment (25 per cent), healthcare (20 per cent), infrastructure (20 per cent) and education (10 per cent). Scores run on a 1–100 scale, with 100 representing ideal conditions.
●The stated purpose is to assess which locations provide the best or worst living conditions for residents, expatriates and businesses — it is used commercially to calibrate hardship allowances for relocated staff, which shapes what it chooses to measure.
●The 2026 global average was 76.1, with healthcare showing the largest average improvement at +0.74 points.
●Copenhagen retained first place for a second year; Vienna, Zurich and Geneva were also in the top six and Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide in the top ten.
●India's ranked cities: New Delhi 120th (48.1), Mumbai 121st (47.9), Chennai 123rd and Bengaluru 127th.
●New Delhi's category scores were education 66.7, infrastructure 58.9, stability 50, healthcare 41.7 and culture and environment 35.4.
The rank is the least useful number in the report — New Delhi's spread from 66.7 on education to 35.4 on culture and environment says exactly where the deficit sits, and it is not where 'urban chaos' commentary usually places it.
◎ In Simple Words
Every year a research group scores cities around the world on how good they are to live in. They look at five things: how safe and stable the city is, its healthcare, its schools, its roads and utilities, and its culture and environment — which includes things like pollution and climate. Copenhagen came first again. Indian cities came near the bottom: Delhi was 120th out of 173. But the details matter — Delhi actually scored quite well on education and infrastructure, and very badly on healthcare and on environment.
Factual Pointers
Practice · 2 questions
With reference to the Global Liveability Index, consider the following statements:
1. It is published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
2. It assesses cities across five categories, of which stability and culture and environment carry the highest weights.
3. Education carries the highest weight among its categories.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
In the EIU Global Liveability Index 2026, which of the following was ranked the world's most liveable city?
Mains Practice Questions
"Composite liveability indices are arguments about what matters, presented as measurements." Critically examine this proposition with reference to the ranking of Indian cities. (250 words, GS1)
The poor liveability of Indian metros is a problem of institutional fragmentation rather than of resources. Discuss with reference to the 74th Constitutional Amendment. (250 words, GS2)
Air quality has become a competitiveness variable for Indian cities, not merely a public health one. Examine. (150 words, GS3)
Frequently Asked
· People also askWho publishes the Global Liveability Index and what does it measure?
It is published annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The 2026 edition scores 173 cities on 30 indicators across five weighted categories — stability (25%), culture and environment (25%), healthcare (20%), infrastructure (20%) and education (10%) — on a 1–100 scale.
Prelims · GS1Its stated audience includes residents, expatriates and businesses, and it is used commercially to calibrate hardship allowances for relocated staff — which shapes what it chooses to measure and what it omits.
SOURCE Economist Intelligence Unit
Where do Indian cities rank in the 2026 index?
New Delhi ranked 120th with a score of 48.1, Mumbai 121st with 47.9, Chennai 123rd and Bengaluru 127th out of 173 cities — placing all four in the bottom third, well below the global average score of 76.1.
PrelimsThe rank alone is misleading. New Delhi scored 66.7 on education and 58.9 on infrastructure, but only 41.7 on healthcare and 35.4 on culture and environment — the category that absorbs air quality.
SOURCE EIU Global Liveability Index 2026
Which city is the world's most liveable in 2026?
Copenhagen retained first place for a second consecutive year. Vienna, Zurich and Geneva were also placed in the top six, and Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide featured in the top ten — reflecting continued Western European and Australian dominance of the index.
SOURCE EIU; CNN
Why do Indian cities score so poorly despite decent infrastructure scores?
Because the deficit is concentrated in the most heavily weighted categories. Culture and environment carries a 25 per cent weight, and New Delhi scores just 35.4 there — driven largely by air quality — while healthcare at 41.7 reflects strain in public provision. Education, where India scores best, carries only 10 per cent.
GS1 · GS3So Indian cities perform relatively well on the lowest-weighted category and worst on a highest-weighted one, which mechanically depresses the aggregate score below what the component performance alone would suggest.
SOURCE EIU Global Liveability Index 2026
What are the limitations of this index for understanding Indian cities?
It measures conditions for a relatively affluent, mobile resident. It does not weigh housing affordability, informal-settlement conditions, water security or commute burdens for the urban poor — all central to Indian urban experience. A city can score on amenities most residents cannot access.
GS1 · SocietyLiveability is also experienced unequally within a city: pollution, water insecurity and heat fall hardest on outdoor workers and informal-settlement residents, so a single aggregate averages across radically different lived conditions.
SOURCE Economist Intelligence Unit methodology
Why is urban governance fragmentation relevant here?
Air quality, healthcare and transport in Indian metros are administered across municipal, state and Union authorities, while the 74th Constitutional Amendment's devolution of Twelfth Schedule functions, funds and functionaries remains incomplete in most states. No single accountable authority controls the outcome an index measures.
GS2 · GovernanceMetropolitan Planning Committees are often unconstituted, and parastatals answer to state governments rather than the city electorate — weakening the accountability chain that would translate poor liveability into political consequence.
SOURCE 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992
Does India have its own liveability assessment?
Yes. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs publishes the Ease of Living Index, which assesses Indian cities on quality of life, economic ability and sustainability, with a citizen perception survey component. Its indicator choices and weights differ substantially from the EIU's.
GS2 · GovernanceComparing the two is a useful exercise: divergent rankings for the same city usually reveal a difference in what the index values rather than a factual disagreement about the city.
SOURCE Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs