India is regularly evaluated through global indexes and reports that measure areas such as economic development, innovation, human development, peace, gender equality, environmental performance, press freedom, and military strength.
For competitive examinations, these rankings are important because questions can ask about India's rank, the organization that publishes an index, the purpose of the index, or the country that ranks first.
This guide covers India's ranking in different indexes 2026 using the latest available editions as of August 2026. Since global reports are released at different times, the edition year is mentioned for each index.
If you are building your General Awareness preparation from the basics, our Static GK for Competitive Exams guide can help you understand the major evergreen areas commonly covered in competitive examinations.
India's Ranking in Different Indexes 2026
The following are some of the most important global indexes and reports for which India's latest ranking is relevant for competitive examinations.
1. Global Innovation Index 2025
The Global Innovation Index is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It evaluates economies on their innovation capabilities using indicators covering innovation inputs and outputs.
India ranked 38th out of 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2025.
India also ranked first among the 37 lower-middle-income economies and first among the 10 economies in Central and Southern Asia.
India improved from 39th in 2024 to 38th in 2025. WIPO highlights India's performance in areas such as ICT services exports, startup finance, and knowledge and technology outputs.
Index: Global Innovation Index
Publisher: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
India's rank: 38th
Latest edition: 2025
2. Global Peace Index 2026
The Global Peace Index is published by the Institute for Economics & Peace. It evaluates countries using indicators related to societal safety and security, ongoing conflicts, and militarisation.
India ranked 127th in the Global Peace Index 2026.
The index is useful for competitive exams because questions can be asked about both India's rank and its publishing organization.
Index: Global Peace Index
Publisher: Institute for Economics & Peace
India's rank: 127th
Latest edition: 2026
3. World Happiness Report 2026
The World Happiness Report measures countries according to people's evaluations of their lives.
India ranked 116th in the World Happiness Report 2026.
The report is produced by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and other organizations.
Index: World Happiness Report
Publisher: Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford, with Gallup and partners
India's rank: 116th
Latest edition: 2026
4. Human Development Index 2025
The Human Development Index (HDI) is published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It measures long-term progress across three major dimensions: health, education, and standard of living.
India ranked 130th in the latest Human Development Report, with an HDI value of 0.685.
The HDI is based on indicators including life expectancy, expected years of schooling, mean years of schooling, and gross national income per capita.
Index: Human Development Index
Publisher: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
India's rank: 130th
Latest edition: 2025
5. Global Gender Gap Index 2025
The Global Gender Gap Index is published by the World Economic Forum. It measures gender disparities across economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
India ranked 131st in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025.
The report uses a gender parity score to compare the position of women and men across the four major dimensions.
Index: Global Gender Gap Index
Publisher: World Economic Forum
India's rank: 131st
Latest edition: 2025
6. Corruption Perceptions Index 2025
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is released by Transparency International. It measures perceived levels of public-sector corruption across countries and territories.
India ranked 91st out of 182 countries in the 2025 CPI, with a score of 39 out of 100.
A higher score represents a better perceived level of public-sector integrity.
Index: Corruption Perceptions Index
Publisher: Transparency International
India's rank: 91st
Latest edition: 2025
7. World Press Freedom Index 2026
The World Press Freedom Index is published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). It evaluates the conditions in which journalists and media organizations operate.
India ranked 157th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index.
The index considers political, economic, legal, social, and security conditions affecting journalism.
Index: World Press Freedom Index
Publisher: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
India's rank: 157th
Latest edition: 2026
8. Environmental Performance Index 2026
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) evaluates countries using indicators covering environmental health, climate change, ecosystem vitality, and other environmental factors.
India ranked 176th out of 180 countries in the 2026 Environmental Performance Index.
For candidates preparing environmental topics, this ranking can be studied alongside the broader concepts covered in the SSC CGL Geography syllabus.
Index: Environmental Performance Index
Publisher: Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy and partner institutions
India's rank: 176th
Latest edition: 2026
9. Rule of Law Index 2025
The Rule of Law Index is published by the World Justice Project. It evaluates countries across areas such as constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
India ranked 86th out of 143 countries in the 2025 Rule of Law Index.
Candidates preparing Indian Polity can connect this topic with subjects such as constitutional governance, rights, institutions, and the rule of law. For detailed preparation, see our SSC CGL Polity Syllabus.
Index: Rule of Law Index
Publisher: World Justice Project
India's rank: 86th
Latest edition: 2025
10. Global Firepower Military Strength Ranking 2026
The Global Firepower ranking evaluates conventional military strength using factors such as manpower, equipment, financial resources, logistics, and geography.
India ranked 4th among 145 countries in the 2026 Global Firepower ranking.
The United States, Russia, and China occupied the three positions ahead of India.
Index: Global Firepower Military Strength Ranking
Publisher: Global Firepower
India's rank: 4th
Latest edition: 2026
India's Ranking in Major Economic and Development Indexes
Global rankings related to development and economic performance are particularly useful for competitive examinations because they connect static concepts with current data.
Human Development Index
India's latest HDI ranking is 130th. The index focuses on health, education, and standard of living rather than economic output alone.
Global Innovation Index
India's Global Innovation Index 2025 rank is 38th. India remains the top-ranked lower-middle-income economy in the index.
Corruption Perceptions Index
India's CPI 2025 rank is 91st out of 182 countries, with a score of 39 out of 100.
For a stronger understanding of economic concepts that frequently appear alongside these rankings, candidates can also refer to our SSC CGL Economics Syllabus.
India's Ranking in Peace, Security and Defence Indexes
Global Peace Index
India ranked 127th in the Global Peace Index 2026.
The index considers factors related to safety, conflict, and militarisation.
Global Firepower
India ranked 4th in the 2026 Global Firepower military strength ranking.
This ranking is different from the Global Peace Index because it measures conventional military capability rather than peacefulness.
India's Ranking in Other Important Global Indexes
11. Global Hunger Index 2025
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) measures hunger at the global, regional, national, and subnational levels. It uses indicators related to undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality.
India ranked 102nd in the Global Hunger Index 2025.
The index is published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
Index: Global Hunger Index
Publishers: Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe
India's rank: 102nd
Latest edition: 2025
12. Henley Passport Index 2026
The Henley Passport Index ranks passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without obtaining a visa in advance.
India's position in the 2026 ranking should be checked against the specific release date because Henley publishes periodic updates during the year.
For this reason, candidates should always mention the edition or release date when recording India's passport ranking rather than treating one year's figure as permanent.
Index: Henley Passport Index
Publisher: Henley & Partners
Latest edition: 2026
13. Global Terrorism Index 2026
The Global Terrorism Index measures the impact of terrorism across countries using factors such as terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries, and hostages.
India ranked 13th in the Global Terrorism Index 2026.
The report is produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace.
Index: Global Terrorism Index
Publisher: Institute for Economics & Peace
India's rank: 13th
Latest edition: 2026
14. Sustainable Development Goals Index 2026
The Sustainable Development Report evaluates countries on their progress toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
India ranked 94th out of 167 countries in the 2026 SDG Index, recording its highest-ever position in the index.
India's score was 68.3 out of 100.
The report is produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Index: SDG Index
Publisher: Sustainable Development Solutions Network
India's rank: 94th
Latest edition: 2026
Why Are Global Indexes Important for Competitive Exams?
Questions about international indexes are common in General Awareness sections because they test multiple pieces of information at once.
A question may ask:
- Which organization publishes the Global Innovation Index?
- What is India's rank in the Human Development Index?
- Which index measures press freedom?
- What is India's position in the Global Peace Index?
- Which organization releases the Corruption Perceptions Index?
- Which index measures gender disparities?
- What is India's rank in the Global Firepower ranking?
Therefore, candidates should remember three things for each important index:
Index name → Publishing organization → India's latest rank
This approach makes revision easier than trying to memorize large amounts of unrelated information.
How to Remember India's Rankings in Different Indexes
Memorizing every ranking individually can become difficult. A better approach is to group the indexes according to what they measure.
Development and Society
- Human Development Index — 130th
- World Happiness Report — 116th
- Global Gender Gap Index — 131st
- Global Hunger Index — 102nd
- SDG Index — 94th
Economy and Innovation
- Global Innovation Index — 38th
- Corruption Perceptions Index — 91st
Peace, Security and Defence
- Global Peace Index — 127th
- Global Terrorism Index — 13th
- Global Firepower — 4th
Environment
- Environmental Performance Index — 176th
Governance and Rights
- Rule of Law Index — 86th
- World Press Freedom Index — 157th
Travel and Mobility
- Henley Passport Index — check the latest 2026 release
The numbers can change whenever a new edition or updated release is published, so candidates should revise the latest figures before an examination.
Important Organizations Behind Global Indexes
Along with India's rank, remember the organization that publishes each index.
- WIPO — Global Innovation Index
- UNDP — Human Development Index
- World Economic Forum — Global Gender Gap Index
- Institute for Economics & Peace — Global Peace Index and Global Terrorism Index
- Transparency International — Corruption Perceptions Index
- Reporters Without Borders — World Press Freedom Index
- World Justice Project — Rule of Law Index
- Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy — Environmental Performance Index
- Henley & Partners — Henley Passport Index
- Sustainable Development Solutions Network — SDG Index
- Global Firepower — Military Strength Ranking
These publisher-index combinations are particularly useful for competitive-exam revision.
Quick Revision: India's Ranking in Different Indexes 2026
Before an examination, revise the most important figures together:
- Global Innovation Index 2025 — 38th
- Global Peace Index 2026 — 127th
- World Happiness Report 2026 — 116th
- Human Development Index 2025 — 130th
- Global Gender Gap Index 2025 — 131st
- Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 — 91st
- World Press Freedom Index 2026 — 157th
- Environmental Performance Index 2026 — 176th
- Rule of Law Index 2025 — 86th
- Global Firepower 2026 — 4th
- Global Hunger Index 2025 — 102nd
- Global Terrorism Index 2026 — 13th
- SDG Index 2026 — 94th
Remember that these are the latest available editions and that different indexes follow different publication schedules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is India's rank in the Global Innovation Index?
India ranked 38th in the Global Innovation Index 2025.
What is India's rank in the Human Development Index?
India ranked 130th in the latest Human Development Report.
What is India's rank in the Global Peace Index 2026?
India ranked 127th in the Global Peace Index 2026.
Which organization publishes the Global Innovation Index?
The Global Innovation Index is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Which index measures human development?
The Human Development Index measures human development using indicators related to health, education, and standard of living.
Which organization publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index?
The Corruption Perceptions Index is published by Transparency International.
Which index measures gender inequality between men and women?
The Global Gender Gap Index, published by the World Economic Forum, measures gender disparities across economic participation, education, health, and political empowerment.
How to Use This List for Competitive Exams
Don't try to memorize the entire article in one sitting. Start with the index name, publisher, and India's rank. Then revise the list regularly because international rankings are updated throughout the year.
For SSC, Banking, UPSC, and State PSC examinations, questions can be framed around either the rank or the organization that publishes the index. Knowing both gives you better coverage.
You can also connect these rankings with the underlying subjects you are studying. For example, the Human Development Index relates to human development, the Global Innovation Index relates to technology and innovation, and the Environmental Performance Index relates to environmental performance.
Conclusion
India's ranking in different indexes 2026 provides a useful snapshot of the country's position across innovation, development, peace, environment, governance, gender equality, and other areas.
However, candidates should always check the edition year before memorizing a ranking. Not every major global index publishes a new edition every year, so the latest available edition may be from 2025 or another recent year.
For competitive-exam preparation, the simplest revision method is to remember each index, its publishing organization, and India's latest rank. Regular revision of these three details can make international rankings much easier to handle in General Awareness questions.
As new editions are released, this guide can be updated so that the information remains useful for future examination cycles.
BriefVerse brings these exam-focused reference guides together to make General Awareness preparation more organized and easier to revise.