There is frequent debate about cleanliness in Pakistani cities, especially Karachi, but recent findings show the world’s dirtiest cities ranking is led by a European capital.
This ranking was released by Radical Storage, a company that examined global online reviews to determine public sentiment regarding cleanliness conditions across major cities.
Their findings challenge long-held beliefs about hygiene standards worldwide.
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To compile this report, analysts used the Euromonitor Index listing the top 100 global cities and evaluated thousands of Google reviews referencing cleanliness or dirtiness.
The company assessed nearly 70,000 online reviews from the past year, giving special attention to keywords such as “clean” and “dirty,” which offered insight into public approval or criticism of urban sanitation practices.
Cities with fewer than 100 relevant reviews were excluded to maintain accuracy. After refining the data, researchers concluded that Budapest received the highest proportion of cleanliness-related complaints among all evaluated cities.
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According to the study, 37.9 percent of reviews criticised Budapest for dust and poor hygiene conditions. This large negative percentage placed the Hungarian capital firmly at the top of the dirtiest cities list globally.
Rome, Italy, appeared second on the list, with 35.7 percent of reviewers complaining about dust and waste. These critical reviews highlight ongoing sanitation challenges in historic European destinations attracting millions of visitors annually.
Las Vegas in the United States ranked third, followed by Florence in fourth place and Paris in fifth. Milan secured sixth position, while Verona came seventh, showing recurring concerns in several Italian cities.
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Frankfurt in Germany ranked eighth, Brussels in Belgium ninth, and Cairo in Egypt tenth.
These results show that cleanliness challenges are not confined to developing countries but also affect advanced global cities significantly.
On the other hand, Krakow in Poland ranked first, receiving strong praise for well-maintained streets and public areas. Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates came second, while Singapore secured third place overall.
Warsaw ranked fourth, followed by Doha in fifth and Riyadh in sixth. Prague came seventh, Muscat eighth, Dubai ninth, and Japan’s Fukuoka secured the tenth position, reflecting strong cleanliness efforts in several regions.
