The top 1,000 cities in the world in 2026 have been determined; Tehran has fallen by 31 places to rank 459

The analysis of five main indicators shows that Tehran has a better situation in terms of human capital with a score of 58.9, and it has also scored 51 points in the economic sector. On the other hand, the quality of life score reaches 48.5 and the environment score reaches 40.8. However, Tehran's lowest score is dedicated to governance; A field that, in addition to the performance of urban management, also includes factors such as institutional stability, quality of regulations, rule of law, and government effectiveness.

According to the World Cities Index 2026 report of the Oxford Economics Institute, which evaluates 1,000 cities based on five indicators of economy, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance, New York, London and Paris were selected among the top three cities in the world, respectively. Tehran also ranked 459 with a drop of 31 places compared to the previous year.

According to Roziato, the noteworthy point of this report is related to the score of only 43 out of 100 Iranian capitals in the governance index; An issue that, along with Tehran's better score in the field of human capital, has raised debates about how to manage the city and the development path of the capital.

How is the index of world cities of Oxford Economics calculated?

As we mentioned earlier, the Oxford Economics Institute, in its 2026 World Cities Index report, examines the situation of a thousand important cities in the world using a set of economic and social indicators. The purpose of this ranking is not only to compare cities; Rather, it is to identify their strengths and weaknesses and evaluate their capacity for growth and development in the future. This index considers five main areas for each city: economy, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. Each area has a score between 0 and 100, and the scores of these five sections are combined to calculate the city's overall score. In this scale, a score of 100 indicates the best performance among the surveyed cities.

Economy: size and structure of the economy, GDP growth, economic stability, per capita income, employment growth and diversity of economic activities.

Human capital: the level of skill and education of the labor force, the quality of universities, the employment situation and the city's ability to attract and retain specialists.

Quality of life: well-being of citizens, housing costs, income, life expectancy, crime rate and access to cultural and recreational facilities.

Environment: air quality, access to green spaces, emission of pollutants, climate risks and environmental sustainability.

Governance: strength and stability of institutions, quality of regulations, rule of law and government effectiveness.

One of the features of this ranking is that, in addition to historical data, Oxford Economics also uses its economic forecasts about cities. For this reason, in addition to showing the current state of cities, the results of the report also consider their economic prospects.

What are the top 10 cities in the world in 2026?

According to the World Cities Index 2026 report of the Oxford Economics Institute, the top 10 cities in the world are:

New York (USA) with a total score of 100

London (UK) with a total score of 98.8

Paris (France) with a total score of 93.4

Seattle (USA) with a total score of 92.8

San Francisco (USA) with a total score of 91.9

Dublin (Ireland) with a total score of 91.3

Boston (USA) with a total score of 90.7

San Jose (USA) with a total score of 89.6

Tokyo (Japan) with a total score of 89.5

Zurich (Switzerland) with a total score of 89.1

Tehran was ranked 459 with an overall score of 43, and you can see its score in each of the following indicators:

The analysis of five main indicators shows that Tehran has a better situation in terms of human capital with a score of 58.9, and it has also scored 51 points in the economic sector. On the other hand, the quality of life score reaches 48.5 and the environment score reaches 40.8. However, Tehran's lowest score is dedicated to governance; A field that, in addition to the performance of urban management, also includes factors such as institutional stability, quality of regulations, rule of law, and government effectiveness.

Referring to these results, Mehdi Akhararian, a member of the Islamic Council of Tehran, considers the state of governance to be a sign of serious problems in the way the capital is run. He believes that despite the fact that Tehran has an educated and specialized workforce, it has not been able to use this capacity sufficiently in city management. Akhararian also criticizes the continuation of the old patterns of urban development and increasing density and emphasizes the necessity of providing more space for criticism and dialogue about the future of Tehran.