Global/National Indexes and rankings 2025

Global/National Indexes and Rankings 2025 

 =>Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI): In the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) 38, released in October 2025, GIFT City's rank is 43rd, an improvement of three places from its previous 46th position. It is the only Indian financial center in the top 15 of Asia-Pacific and has also improved its FinTech ranking to 35th from 40th. 

=>IAF is the 3rd strongest, globally: According to the list, the USAF has a TVR of 242.9, and Russia is a distant second with a TVR of 142.4. India comes third with a TVR of 69.4, slightly ahead of China, which has a TVR of 63.8.

=>Global Hunger Index 2025: India ranks 102nd out of 123 countries in the 2025 Global Hunger Index (GHI), with a GHI score of 25.8, which is categorized as "serious". The 2025 GHI report was released in October 2025 by Concern Worldwide, Welthungerhilfe, and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict. 

=>National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF): IIT Madras tops NIRF rankings for 7th year; The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is an initiative of the Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India, which releases the India Rankings for higher education institutions annually. The rankings are made public on the official nirfindia.org website.

=>Global Competitiveness Ranking 2025: In the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2025 published in August 2025, India ranked 41st out of 69 economies, a drop from its 39th position in 2024. While India continues to show strength in economic performance and business efficiency, its overall ranking was impacted by persistent weaknesses in infrastructure and government effectiveness. Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong secured the top three spots in the 2025 ranking.

=>Global Peace Index 2025: India ranked 115th in the 2025 Global Peace Index (GPI), a slight improvement from its 116th position in 2024. The 2025 report, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), noted this improvement reflects positive changes in areas like domestic conflict and terrorism. 

    The Nordic nation of Iceland, famed for its volcanoes, hot springs and uniquely sublime landscapes, has once again been named the most peaceful country in the world by the Global Peace Index.

=>The Safest city of India:  India was positioned 67th among the world’s safest countries in the latest Numbeo Safety Index mid-2025 rankings, achieving an index score of 55.8.

However, in city-wise safety rankings, Mangalore has been ranked as the safest city in India, praised for its low crime rates and strong civic infrastructure, globally ranking #49 with a safety index score of 74.2.

In Gujarat, three cities—Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Surat—rank next with safety scores of 69.2, 68.2, and 66.6, respectively.

=>Nari 2025 Survey: Going beyond the reported crime stats, a national index on women safety has found that as many as 40% of women in India's urban areas feel "not so safe" or "unsafe".

The National Annual Report and Index on Women's Safety, NARI 2025, is based on views of 12,770 women across 31 cities covering all states.

It reported that 7% of women said they faced harassment in 2024, with those aged 18-24 highest at risk. This is 100 times the figure of reported cases of crime against women as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of 2022.

=>Most cost effective manufacturing hub: India has emerged as the world's most cost-effective manufacturing hub, surpassing China, primarily due to lower labor costs and supportive government policies. This shift is attracting global companies seeking alternatives to China amidst trade tensions and supply chain disruptions.

=>QS University report: In the QS World University Rankings 2025, India has 54 ranked institutions, marking a significant increase from 46 in 2024 and 45 in 2024. IIT Delhi leads as the top-ranked Indian institution, securing the 123rd position globally, a notable rise from its previous rank of 150. India is now the fourth most represented country in the rankings, following the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.

=>Global Gender Gap Report 2025: India has ranked 131 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, slipping two places from its position last year. With a parity score of just 64.1%, India is among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia, according to the report released on Thursday (June 12, 2025). India ranked 129 last year.

=>Global Energy Transition Index: 

Energy Transition Index (ETI), 2025

The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently released Energy Transition Index (ETI), 2025.

Key Findings 

• Sweden ranked first followed by Finland, Denmark and Norway
• India’s rank dropped from rank 63 in 2024 to rank 71 in 2025.

About ETI

• It ranks countries on their progress towards energy transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
• It takes into account two main aspects to put together the Index:
  • System Performance (energy security, equity & sustainability)
  • Transition Readiness (regulation, infrastructure, investment etc.)

=>Global Gender Gap report 2025: India’s position in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 has deteriorated, ranking 131 out of 148 countries. This marks a decline from 129 in 2024. The report, released on June 12, 2025, marks India’s gender parity score of 64.1%. This score places India among the lowest in South Asia. The Global Gender Gap Index assesses gender equality across four dimensions – Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment.

=>World Population Report by UNFPA: In 2025, the world population is estimated to be around 8.23 billion people. India is projected to have the highest population at 1.46 billion, with China following closely at 1.42 billion. Fertility rates are declining globally, with India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) dropping below the replacement level of 2.1. 

=>India's all rankings,Summary 

=>Human Development Report 2025: India has been ranked 130th out of 193 countries and territories in the 2025 Human Development Report (HDR), titled "A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI", released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

=>Press freedom index 2025: The World Press Freedom Index 2025, published by global watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), presents a dismal picture of Indian and global press freedom. India’s ranking has marginally improved to 151 among 180 nations, but it still finds itself in the “severe” category, posing important questions regarding media autonomy and democratic accountability.... Read more at: https://www.studyiq.com/articles/world-press-freedom-index-2025.

=>Times Higher Education World University Rankings: India ranking is 69th one.

=> Important latest indices for India:

=>Hurun Rich list 2025: Hurun Global Rich List is out, and India ranks third with 284 billionaires followed by the U.K., Germany, and Switzerland. Elon Musk has reclaimed his title as the world’s richest person for the fourth time in five years as his net worth surged by 82%, or $189 billion driven by a surge in Tesla share price post Trump election. He is followed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos with a net worth that surged by 44% or $81 billion.

India now ranks third in the world for number of billionaires, with 284 on the Hurun Global Rich List 2025. Mukesh Ambani remains the richest person in Asia, with a fortune of Rs 8.6 trillion, despite a Rs 1 trillion drop from last year. He edged ahead of Gautam Adani, whose wealth rose by 13% to Rs 8.4 trillion.

 

India adds 13 new billionaires

 

India added 13 new billionaires this year, bringing the total to 284. The combined wealth of Indian billionaires stands at Rs 98 trillion—about one-third of India’s GDP and more than Saudi Arabia’s entire GDP. Of these 284 individuals, 175 saw their wealth rise, while 109 saw it decline or remain flat.

=>Happiest countries in the world 2025: Since 2002, the World Happiness Report has used statistical analysis to determine the world’s happiest countries. In its 2024 update, the report concluded that Finland is the happiest country in the world. To determine the world’s happiest country, researchers analyzed comprehensive Gallup polling data from 143 countries for the past three years, specifically monitoring performance in six particular categories: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels. This time

5 Happiest Countries in the World

Finland

7.74

Denmark

7.58

Iceland

7.53

Sweden

7.34

Israel

7.34

India is currently ranked 118th in the global happiness rankings, with an average life evaluation score of 4.389 out of 10.

=>Global free speech index 2025: India ranked 24th out of 33 countries in free speech index. A new global survey by The Future of Free Speech, an independent U.S.-based think tank, has ranked India 24th out of the 33 countries surveyed on the question of support for free speech.

=>Global Terrorism Index 2025: The Global Terrorism Index (GTI), an annual report published by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), provides a comprehensive analysis of global terrorism trends by ranking countries based on the impact of terrorism, considering factors like incidents, fatalities, injuries, and hostages.  The GTI scores each country on a scale from 0 to 10; where 0 represents no impact from terrorism and 10 represents the highest measurable impact of terrorism.

=>IQ Air report 2025: All but one of the world’s top 20 most polluted cities last year were in Asia, a new study shows.

The majority of these cities – 13 – are in the world’s most populous country, India, where booming economic growth is fired largely by coal and where hundreds of millions live in traffic-clogged and congested megacities.

Another four are in neighboring Pakistan, with one in China and Kazakhstan respectively.

The only city outside of Asia featured on the list is N’Djamena, the capital of Chad in central Africa – which was named the country with the worst air pollution.

=>Countries with highest Solar Energy generation: Here, India is at 2nd rung, while USA tops the list.

=>World ghappiness index 2024: Finland tops the list in 7th years in a row, while India is 126th rung out of 143 surveyed countries.

=>Panchayat Raj Devolution Index 2025:  Karnataka tops the overall Devolution Index (DI) ranking of the Panchayat Raj system among States in India, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu are in the second and third spot, respectively.

The report titled ‘Status of Devolution to Panchayats in States – An Indicative Evidence-Based Ranking’ (2024) released by the Centre on February 13 states that Karnataka tops the chart in the DI and in the key sub-indices of ‘finances’ and ‘accountability’. Overall, the State has commendable performance across nearly all identified metrics.

=>Global Climate Risk Index 2025: India has been ranked sixth in the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2025, highlighting its high vulnerability to extreme weather event

The Climate Risk Index (CRI) ranks countries by the human and economic toll of extreme weather. The latest edition highlights increasing losses and the urgent need for stronger climate resilience and action.

=>Global Corruption Perception Index 2024:  The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entrusted power for private gain"  

India ranks 96 out of 180 countries in Corruption Perceptions Index 2024

The index, which ranks 180 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption uses a scale of zero to 100, where "zero" is highly corrupt and "100" is very clean.

=>Global Firepower Index 2025: 

• US, Russia, China top the global firepower index in 2025
• India secures 4th spot, Pakistan slips to 12th, was 9th last year.

 The ranking highlights India's expanding defence capabilities across the Army, Navy, and Air Force, reinforcing its position as one of the world's most powerful military forces.