How India Ranks in Quality of Life in 2026

From the Editor’s Desk

January 20, 2026

India is ranked 63rd out of 89 countries in the 2026 Quality of Life Index, with a total score of 122.3 which is below the global average. The rankings are based on multiple measurable factors that affect daily life, including cost of living, healthcare, traffic, pollution, property prices, safety and purchasing power.

Among 26 Asian countries listed in the index, India ranks 18th, behind not just Gulf monarchies like Oman, Qatar and the UAE, but also several East and Southeast Asian countries including Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and even China, according to the report by Numbeo, a crowd‑sourced global database that publishes quality of life rankings and related indices for countries and cities.

The index includes measurable indicators, without taking into account perceptions, which may or may not be based on reality. India’s score is weighed down by parameters like traffic commute times (11.0), pollution (72.8), property price-to-income ratio (11.0), and limited purchasing power (77.8). Countries like Japan, with a much higher cost of living, rank far ahead because the purchasing power and public services balance those costs. In India’s case, both affordability and quality remain skewed against the common person.

For example, Oman tops the Asian list with a score of 207.6, supported by high purchasing power (156.3), strong safety (81.6) and low property prices relative to income (3.8). Japan, ranked second in Asia, has high healthcare (80.1) and decent safety (77.2), with pollution much lower than India’s. Singapore, at rank 9 in Asia, has far better infrastructure, despite a higher property price ratio, because it is offset by strong public services, health care (71.9) and safety (77.5).

India’s claim to emerging economic finds little support in these everyday indicators of welfare. 

In the Southern Asia region, India leads Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. All five countries rank in the bottom third globally. Sri Lanka’s drop to the bottom of South Asia, with a dismal property-to-income ratio (56.1) and the worst commute time (54.0), reflects post-crisis instability. Bangladesh, at 73.3, is dragged down by the worst pollution score among all countries surveyed (85.4). Pakistan performs marginally better than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka but still remains below 100 overall. In this landscape, India’s lead is not a sign of transformation, but of relative stability in a region where basic services remain weak across the board.

India scores poorly on several metrics that define quality of life for the average citizen. Its traffic commute time index stands at 46.5, suggesting that daily urban travel consumes a large portion of working lives. Pollution is extremely high (72.8), showing little progress despite repeated environmental claims. The property price-to-income ratio is 11.0, one of the worst globally, indicating that housing remains unaffordable for most citizens.

Healthcare, while relatively better than in some neighbours, stands at 65.5, which is nowhere near the levels seen in East Asia or the West. Safety is a weak spot at 55.8, even lower than Pakistan’s. Purchasing power remains far behind developed and high-growth Asian economies. All this points to a lived reality that contradicts the celebratory mood often projected in domestic discourse.

The top 10 globally are dominated by European countries, including Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg and Switzerland, with Oman the only non-European country breaking into the top five. These countries combine high safety, purchasing power, strong healthcare and manageable living costs. They represent functioning systems that convert economic resources into public welfare.

India is far from these benchmarks and even ranks below countries like Croatia, Estonia, Slovenia and Puerto Rico. Being behind 62 other countries on a list based on real, measurable factors should raise serious questions.

If there is a lesson here, it is that large economies are not necessarily good places to live. Progress must be judged by what it means for the average citizen, especially how safe they feel, how long they travel to work, how clean the air is, and whether they can afford a house.

On those counts, India has a long way to go.

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