Belagavi has been ranked 683rd among 1,000 cities globally in the 2026 Oxford Economics Global Cities Index, with an overall score of 30.9 out of 100.
The index, released by Oxford Economics, evaluates 1,000 of the world’s major urban economies across five parameters — Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment and Governance. Each category is scored on a 0–100 scale before being combined into the overall score.
According to Oxford Economics’ city comparison data, Belagavi’s scorecard is:
| Parameter | Score |
|---|---|
| Overall | 30.9 |
| Economics | 34.4 |
| Human Capital | 25.3 |
| Quality of Life | 40.3 |
| Environment | 62.8 |
| Governance | 57.4 |
Environment emerges as Belagavi’s strongest parameter
Among the five categories, Environment is Belagavi’s highest-scoring area at 62.8, followed by Governance at 57.4.
The city scores 40.3 in Quality of Life and 34.4 in Economics, while Human Capital is the lowest-scoring category at 25.3.
Oxford Economics says its Human Capital assessment considers factors related to a city’s talent pool, skills, education and labour force, while the Economics category looks at factors including GDP, growth, GDP per person, employment growth, economic stability and economic diversity.
The Quality of Life category covers indicators such as life expectancy, income, income equality, housing costs, recreation and cultural amenities and internet speed. The Environment score considers factors including air quality, emissions intensity, natural disasters and climate-related indicators.
Belagavi among six Karnataka cities
The 2026 index includes six cities from Karnataka in the table being circulated:
| City | Global Rank | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru | 311 | 53.2 |
| Mysuru | 628 | 34.1 |
| Mangaluru | 665 | 31.8 |
| Belagavi | 683 | 30.9 |
| Hubballi-Dharwad | 707 | 29.7 |
| Kalaburagi | 781 | 25.5 |
Belagavi is therefore positioned 18 places behind Mangaluru and 24 places ahead of Hubballi-Dharwad in the global ranking
What the ranking means
The Oxford Economics index is not simply a ranking based on the size of a city’s economy. It combines the five categories to provide what Oxford Economics describes as a broader, data-driven assessment of the strengths, weaknesses and future potential of cities.
For Belagavi, the 2026 scorecard presents an interesting picture: the city’s Environment and Governance scores are substantially higher than its Economics and Human Capital scores.
Oxford Economics’ latest report also points to the increasing importance of Asian cities, particularly Indian and Chinese urban centres, in the global economic landscape.
For Belagavi, the 683rd global position provides a benchmark, while the individual category scores offer a more useful indication of where the city performs relatively strongly and where there is scope for improvement.
Source: Oxford Economics, Global Cities Index 2026.