The QS Best Student Cities 2025 ranking, released on June 18, 2024, has placed Dhaka among the least desirable cities for students globally.
The QS Best Student Cities list highlights the most student-friendly locations around the world. This year, of the 150 cities considered, the top 10 student destinations include London, Tokyo, Seoul, Munich, Melbourne, Sydney, Paris, Zurich, and Berlin. Dhaka, however, ranks 141st overall.
These rankings are based on six key factors: university rankings, student mix, desirability, employer activity, affordability, and student feedback. One of the crucial factors, ‘desirability,’ reflects how safe the city is, its pollution levels, and the extent to which students around the world are interested in studying there. Dhaka scored just 9.4 out of 100 on this desirability index, the lowest score in the entire list, marking it as one of the least desirable cities for students. In comparison, cities like Tokyo, Copenhagen, Zurich, and Sydney rank among the most desirable.
Additionally, Dhaka also received low marks in the ‘student mix’ category, which considers the proportion of students in the population, the number of international students, and how inclusive the city is. On a more positive note, Dhaka earned a relatively strong score of 80.2 out of 100 for affordability, making it the 10th most affordable student city according to international standards.
