[PDF] Important Indexes & Rankings | International Reports

written by Ranjan

This post focuses on providing Important Indexes & Rankings Current Affairs in English. These International Reports Current Affairs have been prepared with a focus on competitive examinations.

International Reports (Important Indexes & Rankings)

Global Gender Gap Report 2025

Published by: World Economic Forum

  • Rank 1: Iceland (92.6%)
  • India’s Rank: 131st (Score – 0.644)

Key Points

  • The global gender gap score in 2025 for all 148 economies included in this edition of the index stands at 68.8% closed.
  • North America leads the 2025 regional gender gap rankings, having closed 75.8% of its overall gender gap.

Global Hunger Index 2025

Published by: Concern Worldwide & Welthungerhilfe

  • Lowest Ranking Country: Somalia (Rank 123)
  • India’s Rank: 102nd

India’s Data

  • Score: 25.8 (Serious Category)
  • Undernourishment: 12%
  • Child Stunting: 32.9%
  • Child Wasting: 18.7%
  • Child Mortality: 2.8%

AI Preparedness Index (AIPI) 2024

Published by: International Monetary Fund

  • Rank 1: Singapore
  • India’s Rank: 72nd

Global Energy Transition Index 2025

Published by: World Economic Forum

  • Rank 1: Sweden
  • India’s Rank: 71st

Environmental Performance Index 2024

Published by: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy & Columbia Center for International Earth Science Information Network

  • Rank 1: Estonia
  • India’s Rank: 176th

Network Readiness Index 2025

Published by: Portulans Institute

  • Rank 1: United States
  • India’s Rank: 45th

Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023

Published by: World Bank

  • Rank 1: Singapore
  • India’s Rank: 38th

QS World University Rankings 2026

Published by: Quacquarelli Symonds

  • Rank 1 University: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Top Indian Institute: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi – Rank 123

Major Global Reports

Global Risks Report 2026 (21st Edition)

Publisher: World Economic Forum

Short-Term (2 Years) and Long-Term (10 Years) Global Outlook

Risk Categories:

  • Calm – Negligible risk of global catastrophes
  • Stable – Isolated disruptions with low risk
  • Unsettled – Some instability with moderate risk
  • Turbulent – Upheavals with elevated risk
  • Stormy – Global catastrophic risks looming

Current Global Risk Landscape

Major risks include:

  • Geoeconomic confrontation
  • Extreme weather events
  • Societal polarization
  • Misinformation and disinformation
  • Economic downturn
  • Erosion of human rights and civic freedoms
  • Cyber insecurity
  • Inequality
  • Lack of economic opportunity
  • Concentration of strategic resources and technologies
  • Critical infrastructure disruption
  • Asset bubble burst
  • Debt crisis
  • Supply chain disruptions
  • Infectious diseases

Change in Short-Term Global Risk Perception (2 Years)

Stable Level of Concern

  • Inequality
  • Lack of economic opportunity or unemployment
  • Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections
  • Infectious diseases
  • Non-weather related natural disasters

Biggest Increase in Ranking

  • Geoeconomic confrontation
  • Economic downturn
  • Inflation
  • Asset bubble burst
  • Disruptions to critical infrastructure

Biggest Fall in Ranking

  • Crime and illicit economic activity
  • Critical change to Earth systems
  • Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse
  • Biological, chemical or nuclear hazards
  • Pollution

Future of Jobs Report 2025

Publisher: World Economic Forum

Key Findings

  • Broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend across technology and overall development.
  • Rising cost of living is the second most transformative trend and the top economic challenge.
  • Climate change mitigation ranks as the third most transformative trend and the leading green transition trend.
  • Between 2025 and 2030, job creation and job destruction due to structural labor-market transformation will affect 22% of today’s total jobs.

Emissions Gap Report 2025

Publisher: United Nations Environment Programme

Key Findings

  • The 16th edition of the report finds that global warming projections based on full implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are 2.3–2.5°C this century.
  • Under current policies, the temperature rise could reach 2.8°C.
  • Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement ten years ago, projected temperature increases have fallen from 3–3.5°C.

Gender Inequality Index 2022

Publisher: United Nations Development Programme

Dimensions

  • Health
  • Empowerment
  • Labour Market

Indicators

  • Maternal mortality ratio
  • Adolescent birth rate
  • Female population with secondary education
  • Female and male shares of parliamentary seats
  • Female and male labour force participation

India’s Rank: 108th out of 193 countries
Score: 0.437

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025

Publisher: United Nations Development Programme

  • India’s MPI value: 0.069
  • Nutrition deprivation: 28.6%

Important International Indexes

World Competitiveness Index 2025

Rank 1: Switzerland
India: 41st
Issued by: International Institute for Management Development (IMD)

World Happiness Report 2025

Rank 1: Finland
India: 118th

Issued by

  • Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre
  • Gallup
  • UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Corruption Perceptions Index 2024

Rank 1: Denmark
India: 96th

Issued by: Transparency International

Climate Change Performance Index 2026

Top Ranks: First three positions vacant
Rank 4: Denmark (Score 80.52)

India: 23rd out of 63 countries and the EU
India’s Score: 61.31

Issued by

  • Germanwatch
  • NewClimate Institute
  • Climate Action Network International

Other Important Global Indexes

Global Peace Index 2025

Rank 1: Iceland
India: 115th
Publisher: Institute for Economics and Peace

World Press Freedom Index 2025

Rank 1: Norway
India: 151st
Publisher: Reporters Without Borders

Human Development Report 2025

Publisher: United Nations Development Programme

Rank 1: Iceland (Score 0.972)
India: 130th (Score 0.685)

Report Title: A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI

India’s Key Indicators

  • Life Expectancy: 72 years (2023)
  • Expected Years of Schooling: 12.95
  • Mean Years of Schooling: 6.88
  • Gross National Income Per Capita (2021 PPP): $9,046.76

Global Firepower Index 2025

Rank 1: United States
India: 4th (Power Index: 0.1184)

Henley Passport Index (Feb 2026)

Rank 1: Singapore
India: 75th (Visa-free access to 56 countries)

Lowest Rank: Afghanistan

Publisher: Henley & Partners

Global Terrorism Index 2025

Most Affected Country: Burkina Faso
India: 14th

Publisher: Institute for Economics and Peace

Global Innovation Index 2025

Rank 1: Switzerland (15th time)
India: 38th out of 139 countries

Publisher: World Intellectual Property Organization

Global Liveability Index 2025

Rank 1 City: Copenhagen

Indian Cities Rank:

  • Delhi
  • Mumbai

India Rank: 141st

Publisher: Economist Intelligence Unit

Index of Economic Freedom 2025

Rank 1: Singapore
India: 128th

Publisher: Heritage Foundation

UN Sustainable Development Report 2025

Rank 1: Finland
India: 99th

Publisher: UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Forest & Environment Related Reports

Key Facts on Forest Cover in India

  • The top three states with the largest forest cover are Madhya Pradesh (77,073 sq km), followed by Arunachal Pradesh (65,882 sq km) and Chhattisgarh (55,812 sq km).
  • The top four states showing the maximum increase in forest and tree cover are Chhattisgarh (684 sq km), followed by Uttar Pradesh (559 sq km), Odisha (559 sq km) and Rajasthan (394 sq km).
  • The top three states with the maximum increase in forest cover are Mizoram (242 sq km), followed by Gujarat (180 sq km) and Odisha (152 sq km).
  • In terms of the percentage of forest cover relative to the total geographical area, Lakshadweep (91.33%) has the highest forest cover, followed by Mizoram (85.34%) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (81.62%).
  • The total mangrove cover in India is 4,992 sq km.

Reports Released by NITI Aayog

1. Export Preparedness Index (EPI)

Performance Classification

Category Description
Leaders States/UTs demonstrating relatively high export preparedness
Challengers States/UTs with moderate preparedness and scope for improvement
Aspirers States/UTs at early stages of export ecosystem development

Leading Performers

Large States

  • Maharashtra
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Gujarat
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Andhra Pradesh

Small States, North-Eastern States and Union Territories

  • Uttarakhand
  • Jammu and Kashmir
  • Nagaland
  • Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
  • Goa

2. Fiscal Health Index (FHI) 2025

  • The index covers eighteen major states of India.
  • The Fiscal Health Index (FHI) 2025 evaluates Indian states across five core categories:

    • Quality of Expenditure
    • Revenue Mobilization
    • Fiscal Prudence
    • Debt Index
    • Debt Sustainability

  • States are divided into four categories based on composite scores:

    • Achiever
    • Front Runner
    • Performer
    • Aspirational

Top Ranked States

  1. Odisha – Score: 67.8
  2. Chhattisgarh – Score: 55.2
  3. Goa – Score: 53.6

Other states mentioned among leading performers include:

  • Jharkhand
  • Gujarat

Aspirational States

  • Punjab
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • West Bengal
  • Kerala

3. SDG India Index 2023–24

  • The SDG India Index 2023–24 measures and tracks the national progress of all States and Union Territories on 113 indicators aligned with the National Indicator Framework (NIF) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
  • India’s composite score improved:

    • 57 in 2018
    • 66 in 2020–21
    • 71 in 2023–24

  • The scores of states range between 57 and 79, while Union Territories score between 65 and 77.

Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7)

Publisher: United Nations Environment Programme

  • The report was released during the 7th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly held in Nairobi on 9 December 2025.

Key Findings

  • Environmental pollution is the largest global risk factor for disease and premature death, with nine million deaths annually linked to pollution.
  • The cost of extreme weather events attributed to climate change over the last 20 years is estimated at US$143 billion annually.
  • One million of the estimated eight million species worldwide are threatened with extinction, and many populations are declining.
  • Without urgent action:

    • Global temperature rise could exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the early 2030s.
    • It could exceed 2.0°C by the 2040s and continue increasing.

  • Climate change could reduce global GDP by 4% by 2050 and 20% by the end of the century.
  • The extraction of material resources — including biomass, fossil fuels, minerals and metals — is projected to increase by 70% between 2020 and 2050.

National Reports

1. National Family Health Survey 2019–21 (NFHS-5)

  • The Total Fertility Rate (TFR), or the average number of children per woman, declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5.
  • The overall contraceptive prevalence rate increased significantly from 54% to 67% in the country.
  • The stunting level among children under five years declined slightly from 38% to 36% over the last four years.
  • Between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5:

    • Use of clean cooking fuel increased from 44% to 59%.
    • Improved sanitation facilities increased from 49% to 70%.
    • Hand-washing facilities with soap and water improved from 60% to 78%.

  • In NFHS-5, more than three-fourths (77%) of children aged 12–23 months were fully immunized, compared with 62% in NFHS-4.
  • Institutional births increased significantly from 79% to 89% in India.
  • The proportion of pregnant women who received antenatal care (ANC) visits in the first trimester increased from 59% to 70% between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5.

2. Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025

Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization

  • India has moved up to 9th position globally in terms of total forest area according to GFRA 2025.
  • Earlier, India was ranked 10th, and it has maintained its 3rd position globally in annual net gain of forest area.
  • The world’s total forest area is approximately 4.14 billion hectares, which accounts for about 32% of the total land area, equal to roughly 0.5 hectares of forest per person.
  • India contributes about 72,739 thousand hectares of forest area, which is roughly 2% of the world’s total forest cover.
  • Europe has the largest forest area, accounting for 25% of the global total, while South America has the highest proportion of forest cover, with 49% of its land area under forests.

Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam Initiative

  • On World Environment Day 2024, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, launched the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign.
  • The campaign began with the plantation of a Peepal tree at Buddha Jayanti Park in Delhi.

3. India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023

Publisher: Forest Survey of India

  • The ISFR has been published every two years since 1987.
  • The India State of Forest Report 2023 is the 18th report in the series.
  • The report provides information on:

    • Forest cover
    • Tree cover
    • Mangrove cover
    • Growing stock
    • Carbon stock in forests
    • Forest fires
    • Agroforestry

  • The total forest and tree cover in India is 8,27,357 sq km, which is 25.17% of the country’s total geographical area.
  • The forest cover alone is 7,15,343 sq km (21.76%), while tree cover accounts for 1,12,014 sq km (3.41%).
  • Compared to 2021, there has been an increase of 1,445 sq km in the total forest and tree cover, including:

    • 156 sq km increase in forest cover
    • 1,289 sq km increase in tree cover

National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

Highlights: MPI Progress Report 2023

The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) measures poverty by considering several aspects of people’s lives, including health, education, and living standards. It helps track India’s progress toward SDG Target 1.2, which aims to reduce poverty in all its forms.

Key Highlights

  • India has recorded a sharp decline in the Poverty Headcount Ratio, which has fallen by 24.35%.
  • Around 135 million people have moved out of multidimensional poverty in recent years.
  • The MPI is calculated using several weighted indicators across different sectors.
  • A total of 12 indicators have shown improvement, indicating better access to essential services and improved living conditions.
  • There has also been a 47.14% reduction in the incidence of people classified as MPI poor.

These findings show that India has made significant progress in reducing poverty and improving overall human development.

Important Reports Released by NITI Aayog

7. Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations

This report focuses on strengthening India’s higher education system through international cooperation. It was prepared in collaboration with IIT Madras.

The report discusses ways to:

  • Promote global academic partnerships
  • Encourage international students to study in India
  • Increase research collaboration between Indian and foreign universities
  • Improve the global standing of Indian higher education institutions

8. Water Budgeting in Aspirational Blocks

This report highlights the importance of efficient water management in aspirational blocks across India.

The initiative aims to:

  • Promote sustainable water use
  • Improve irrigation planning
  • Encourage community participation in water conservation
  • Ensure better management of water resources at the local level

9. India’s Blue Economy: Strategy for Harnessing Deep-Sea and Offshore Fisheries

This report focuses on the potential of India’s Blue Economy and the sustainable use of marine resources.

Key areas discussed in the report include:

  • Development of deep-sea fisheries
  • Expansion of offshore fishing activities
  • Support for coastal communities and livelihoods
  • Sustainable management of marine ecosystems

10. Pathways to Progress: Analysis and Insights into India’s Innovation Story

This report examines the growth of innovation and technological development in India.

It highlights:

  • The expansion of India’s startup ecosystem
  • Government initiatives supporting innovation
  • Growth in research and technological advancements
  • The role of innovation in driving economic development

11. Strategies and Pathways for Accelerating Growth in Pulses towards the Goal of Atmanirbharta

This report focuses on increasing pulses production in India to achieve the goal of self-reliance.

The report outlines strategies to:

  • Improve productivity in pulses cultivation
  • Strengthen supply chains and market access
  • Promote research and technological support for farmers
  • Reduce dependence on imports and move toward self-sufficiency

12. North Eastern Region District SDG Index (2023–24)

The North Eastern Region District SDG Index 2023–24 evaluates the progress of districts in the northeastern states of India toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Key Highlights

  • The index covers 121 districts in the North Eastern region.
  • The composite scores range from 58.71 to 81.43.

Lowest Score:

  • Longding district in Arunachal Pradesh – 58.71

Highest Score:

  • Hnahthial district in Mizoram – 81.43

District Categories

Districts are classified into four categories based on their performance:

  1. Achiever
  2. Front Runner
  3. Performer
  4. Aspirant

  • 103 districts fall under the Front Runner category.
  • 18 districts are placed in the Performer category.

Notably, all districts in Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura have achieved Front Runner status, indicating strong progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in these states.