Top 10 cities for international students

Two Asian cities, Seoul and Tokyo, are ranked as the best locations for international students in 2026.

QS, a global higher education analyst, recently released its 2026 ranking of the best cities for international students. The top 10 includes six European cities, two Asian cities, and two from Oceania.

Seoul, South Korea, earned a perfect score of 100, claiming the top spot, up two places from last year. Tokyo, Japan, followed closely behind with 99.9, maintaining its second-place ranking. London, UK, came in third with 97.1, dropping two spots from the previous year.

The next three positions went to Munich, Germany, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, all maintaining their previous rankings. Berlin climbed two spots to 7th place, followed by Paris, France, and Zurich, Switzerland, both up one spot from last year.

Vienna, Austria, rounded out the top 10, rising four places and replacing Montreal, Canada.

No.	City	Country	Score
1	Seoul	South Korea	100
2	Tokyo	Japan	99.9
3	London	UK	97.1
4	Munich	Germany	96.3
5	Melbourne	Australia	95.7
6	Sydney	Australia	94.7
7	Berlin	Germany	93.3
8	Paris	France	93.3
9	Zurich	Switzerland	91.5
10	Vienna	Austria	90.8

QS is one of the four largest university ranking organizations in the world. This year, QS ranked the best cities for international students based on six criteria: university rankings, international student population, student desirability, graduate employability, affordability, and student views. Each criterion is scored individually, then calculated using a formula to arrive at a total score out of 100.

To be eligible for the list, each city must have a population of over 250,000 and at least two universities featured in the latest QS World University Rankings.