Islamabad scores 140.7 in Numbeo's 2026 quality of life index, ahead of Paris, New York and London

Islamabad has a score of 140.7 in Numbeo's 2026 mid-year Quality of Life Index, placing it ahead of Paris (138.8), New York (137.3) and London (135.8), ProPakistani reported from the Numbeo rankings. The capital also finished above Kuala Lumpur, Budapest and Johannesburg.

Islamabad's scores, part by part

The biggest gap with the Western cities is cost: Islamabad's cost of living reads 25.3 against 100 for New York, 88.2 for London and 78.6 for Paris. That cheapness, together with a good climate score, does most of the lifting.

Lahore and Karachi far behind

Among Pakistani cities, Lahore is second with 98.4 and Karachi third with 76.1. Both lose ground on pollution, traffic and safety; Lahore's score lands as the city enters its smog season, which Punjab is already fighting with crop-fire teams: see Smog in Lahore.

The world's top scores are far higher: The Hague 221.5, Eindhoven 210.7 and Seattle 182.5.

Read it with care

Numbeo's numbers come from user-contributed data and surveys, not official statistics, so a city with fewer contributors can move a lot from one release to the next. A low cost-of-living score also does not mean life is cheap for someone earning in rupees: purchasing power, at 43.7, is the better guide to what a local salary buys. To see what your own pay works out to, try our salary breakdown calculator, and for renting or buying in the capital, the rental yield calculator.