Islamabad has outscored London, Paris and New York in Numbeo’s 2026 Mid-Year Quality of Life Index, helped by relatively favourable safety and living costs.
Pakistan’s capital recorded 140.7 points, compared with Paris at 138.8, New York at 137.3 and London at 135.8. It also finished ahead of Kuala Lumpur, Budapest and Johannesburg.
However, the ranking reflects Numbeo’s combination of economic, environmental and survey-based indicators. It does not establish that Islamabad performs better than these cities in every aspect of daily life.
Islamabad leads Pakistani cities
Among the Pakistani cities listed, Islamabad secured the highest score. Lahore followed with 98.4 points, while Karachi recorded 76.1.
The capital’s score exceeded Lahore’s by 42.3 points and Karachi’s by 64.6 points, showing a substantial gap within Pakistan.
Islamabad recorded a Safety Index of 69.2 and a Cost of Living Index of 25.3. Its other scores included 63.7 for health care, 76.9 for climate and 41.5 for pollution.
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Higher safety, health care and climate scores support a city’s overall result. Lower pollution and living-cost scores also improve its standing under Numbeo’s formula.
Nevertheless, Islamabad remained far behind the leading international cities. The Hague in the Netherlands topped the table with 221.5 points, followed by Eindhoven with 210.7.
Seattle also ranked substantially higher than Islamabad, recording 182.5 points.
Low costs come with weaker purchasing power
Islamabad’s living-cost score stood well below New York’s benchmark of 100.0. London recorded 88.2, while Paris scored 78.6.
Numbeo uses New York as its reference point for comparing consumer prices across cities. Its Cost of Living Index covers groceries, restaurant meals, transportation and utilities, but excludes rent and mortgage payments.
On that measure, Islamabad’s score indicates consumer prices roughly three-quarters below New York’s for the items included.
However, cheaper prices do not necessarily mean residents can comfortably afford their daily needs.
Islamabad’s Purchasing Power Index stood at 43.7, highlighting a weaker side of its performance. This measure considers what residents can buy with an average net salary, relative to the New York benchmark.
The contrast matters: a city can have low prices internationally while local earnings still limit household spending.
What the Numbeo ranking measures
Numbeo calculates its Quality of Life Index using purchasing power, safety, health care, living costs, housing affordability, traffic, pollution and climate.
Its formula assigns different weights to these factors, producing a combined score rather than a simple average.
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The platform draws on user-contributed information and surveys that reflect contributors’ experiences and perceptions. The rankings are not official government statistics.
Numbeo says it filters potential spam and seeks sufficient contributions for each location.
The mid-year table provides a snapshot of these indicators. Islamabad’s result highlights its relative strengths in this assessment, alongside continuing constraints on residents’ purchasing power.
