The QS Best Student Cities 2025 ranking, published on June 18, 2024, lists Dhaka as one of the least desirable student cities in the world. 

The QS Best Student Cities list ranks the world's most student-friendly locations. This year, out of 150 cities, the top 10 cities for students include London, Tokyo, Seoul, Munich, Melbourne, Sydney, Paris, Zurich, and Berlin. Dhaka ranks 141st out of the 150 cities in the overall rankings. 

The rankings are based on six key categories or indicators – university rankings, student mix, desirability, employer activity, affordability, and student view. The 'desirability' factor in the rankings is determined based on how safe the city is, what its pollution levels are like, and how many respondents in the QS student survey wanted to study in the city. 

Out of 100, Dhaka scored 9.4 in the desirability factor – the lowest in the list – making it one of the least desirable student cities in the list. Cities like Tokyo, Copenhagen, Zurich, and Sydney are some of the most desirable student cities according to the rankings. 

Dhaka also scored the lowest in the student mix indicator, which is determined based on factors such as what proportion of the city's population are students, how many international students are enrolled in the city, and how inclusive the city is. Dhaka, however, scored 80.2 out of 100 in terms of affordability (by international standards), placing it as the 10th most affordable student city on the list.