Seoul has retained its position as the world’s best student city in the QS Best Student Cities 2027 rankings released on Wednesday. Tokyo and London secured the second and third spots, followed by Melbourne in fourth place. Munich and Sydney shared the fifth position. Among Indian cities, Mumbai emerged as the country’s highest-ranked student destination, climbing seven places to rank 91st globally, while Delhi entered the global top 100 at 99th.
The annual rankings, published by global higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds, assess 150 cities across six indicators — university quality, employer activity, affordability, desirability, student mix and student view. Besides Mumbai and Delhi, Bengaluru was placed joint 114th after slipping six places, while Chennai improved five positions to rank 123.
Delhi, meanwhile, has been recognised as the world’s most affordable student city in the QS Best Student Cities 2027 rankings. The national capital received the highest affordability score globally, with QS noting that average annual international tuition fees are around US$2,700 (approximately Rs 2.6 lakh). Delhi also ranked 29th worldwide for employer activity, reflecting strong graduate employment prospects.
Among Indian cities, Mumbai recorded the biggest improvement in the overall rankings, supported by strong scores in employer activity and affordability. Bengaluru was the only Indian city to register a decline this year, while Chennai posted a modest gain.