Thirteen Italian hospitals have been included in the prestigious global ranking "World's Best Hospitals 2026" by Newsweek magazine, developed in collaboration with Statista. The Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome, as the top Italian facility, ranked 33rd in the world. The following positions were taken by hospitals from Lombardy: the Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda in Milan (43rd), the Humanitas Clinical Institute in Rozzano (51st), and the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan (57th). The President of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, emphasized that five hospitals from the region are among the top eight in Italy, which he believes confirms the strength of the local healthcare system.
Italian Top Tier in the Ranking
Thirteen Italian facilities are among the 250 best hospitals in the world according to Newsweek's ranking. The leader among them is Rome's Gemelli hospital, which ranked 33rd globally, achieving the best result for an Italian institution in the eight editions of the ranking.
Dominance of Hospitals from Lombardy
Five of the eight best Italian hospitals in the ranking are from the Lombardy region. Three of them – Niguarda (43rd), Humanitas (51st), and San Raffaele (57th) – are within the top hundred of the global ranking.
Methodology and Scope of the Study
Newsweek's ranking, developed with Statista, evaluated over 2,500 hospitals worldwide based on quality of care, reputation among experts, efficiency indicators, and patient safety. The global top five consists mainly of American facilities, along with a hospital in Toronto and Karolinska in Stockholm.
Reactions from Regional Authorities
The President of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, commented on the ranking results with satisfaction, emphasizing recognition for the work of medical staff and declaring further investments in infrastructure and modern technologies for the region's healthcare service.
Thirteen Italian hospitals have been distinguished in the latest, eighth edition of the global ranking "World's Best Hospitals 2026" published by the American magazine "Newsweek" in collaboration with the data platform Statista. The ranking, covering the 250 best facilities worldwide, is based on an analysis of over 2,500 hospitals and considers criteria such as the quality of medical care, reputation among professionals, performance indicators, and patient safety. The Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome proved to be the best Italian hospital, ranking 33rd in the global classification. As emphasized, this is the highest position ever achieved by an Italian institution in the history of this ranking. Directly behind it were hospitals from the Lombardy region, which dominated the Italian part of the list. The Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda in Milan took 43rd place worldwide, the Humanitas Clinical Institute in Rozzano – 51st, and the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan – 57th place. Two other Lombard facilities, Pope John XXIII in Bergamo and the San Matteo Polyclinic in Pavia, ranked 104th and 134th, respectively. In total, five of the eight best Italian hospitals in the ranking are from Lombardy, and three of them – Niguarda, Humanitas, and San Raffaele – are within the top global hundred. The ranking of the world's best hospitals by "Newsweek" magazine has been published since 2019. Its methodology, developed in collaboration with the German advisory firm Statista, aims to provide patients and their families with an objective, independent tool for comparing medical facilities in the face of the enormous global number of hospitals, currently estimated at around 216,000. The ranking has become an important reference point in the international discourse on healthcare quality. The Italian achievements should be considered against the backdrop of the world's top tier, which in this edition was dominated by American hospitals. The top five places were taken by: Mayo Clinic in Rochester (Minnesota), Toronto General-University Health Network (Canada), Cleveland Clinic (USA), Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden), and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (USA).