Ranchi: Ranchi ranked 792nd among 1,000 cities globally in Oxford Economics’ 2026 global cities index, climbing 74 positions from its last year’s rank. The state capital recorded an overall score of 25 out of 100. The latest edition also features Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Bokaro, offering a snapshot of how the state’s major urban centres compare on economic and social indicators.Ranchi was ranked 866th in the 2025 index. Jamshedpur, which stood at 833rd last year, is ranked 844th this year, while Dhanbad has improved from 979th to 965th. Bokaro, however, has slipped from 978th to 987th.The index, compiled by Oxford Economics, is designed to compare cities using a common set of measures and identify their relative strengths and challenges. It evaluates 1,000 cities worldwide across five broad categories: economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance.The four cities’ positions show a wide gap within Jharkhand’s urban landscape. Ranchi, despite its significant rise, remains in the lower half of the global ranking, while Jamshedpur continues to stand ahead of the other three cities despite its 11-place decline. Dhanbad’s 14-place improvement has moved it out of the bottom 50 positions, whereas Bokaro has slipped further towards the bottom of the 1,000-city list.The index also highlights differences in individual parameters. Bokaro has recorded a zero score in the environment category, making environmental performance a particularly stark weakness in its assessment. The results underline that a city’s overall position does not necessarily reflect uniform performance across all parameters.The study provides a comparative picture of the factors that shape the performance and long-term development of cities. Among Indian cities, Delhi ranks highest at 268th globally in the 2026 index.
