Best countries for expats in 2026

How we rank the best countries for expats

There is no single "best country" for everyone. A retiree living on a pension weighs cost and healthcare; a remote founder weighs tax and banking; a family weighs schools and safety. So this ranking blends the things that actually move quality of life abroad: how satisfied real expats say they are, what daily life costs, how good and how affordable healthcare is, how safe the country is, and how the tax system treats a newcomer.

The backbone is the InterNations Expat Insider 2025 survey of 10,085 expats across 46 destinations, which scores working abroad, personal finance, quality of life, ease of settling in and "expat essentials" (housing, admin, digital life). We cross-reference it with Numbeo's cost-of-living and healthcare indices and the Institute for Economics & Peace's Global Peace Index for safety. Every figure below is dated — treat tax and visa specifics as a starting point and verify before you move.

The 2026 ranking

Rank and satisfaction come from InterNations Expat Insider 2025. "Cost index" is the Numbeo Cost of Living Index (2025, excluding rent, New York = 100) — lower means cheaper daily life. "Tax posture" is a one-line summary of how the country treats a typical resident's foreign income; it is a signpost, not advice.

The dashes reflect gaps in the comparable Numbeo 2025 series or countries we added for context outside the InterNations top 10; the tax and safety notes still hold. Notably, Italy (37), Germany (41), the UK (41) and Canada (40) all sit in the bottom ten for expat satisfaction — high costs, housing stress and heavy admin drag down otherwise wealthy countries.

Cost of living: where your money goes furthest

Cost is the single biggest reason expats rate Latin America and Southeast Asia so highly. On Numbeo's 2025 index, Indonesia (24.6), Colombia (26.0), Vietnam (26.6) and Malaysia (29.7) all cost roughly a quarter of New York, and Vietnam topped InterNations' personal-finance category outright. Contrast that with Switzerland at 98.4 — near parity with New York — and the trade-off is stark: you can buy a materially better daily life abroad simply by changing latitude.

Cost interacts with tax. A low headline cost is worth less if your home country still taxes you, which is why understanding tax residency matters before you pick a destination. If cutting your tax bill is the goal, our roundups of countries with no income tax and territorial-tax countries are the place to start.

Healthcare and safety

Two European systems anchor the quality end. Spain scores 77.3 on Numbeo's 2025 healthcare index and pairs it with one of the world's best-value private-insurance markets; Portugal and France sit close behind. In Asia, Thailand's private hospitals in Bangkok and Phuket are a genuine medical-tourism draw at a fraction of Western prices. The UAE offers world-class facilities but at world-class cost, so budget for comprehensive insurance.

On safety, the 2025 Global Peace Index puts Iceland, Ireland and New Zealand at the top, with Singapore (6th) and Portugal (7th) the standout expat magnets in the top ten. In the Americas, Uruguay is the most peaceful country; in Asia, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia lead. The US sits at 128th — a reminder that wealth and safety are not the same variable. Compare full lists in our guides to the safest countries in the world and the state of healthcare abroad.

Tax: the variable most expats underweight

Two people can move to the same country and pay wildly different tax. Panama and Malaysia broadly do not tax foreign-source income, which is why they punch above their weight for location-independent earners. Thailand taxes foreign income only when you remit it — a nuance that rewards planning. The UAE levies no personal income tax at all. Spain taxes worldwide income but offers the "Beckham" regime to qualifying new arrivals.

Portugal is the cautionary tale: its famous Non-Habitual Resident regime closed to new applicants, replaced from 2025 by the far narrower IFICI incentive aimed at scientific and innovation roles at a 20% flat rate. If a country's tax perk is the reason you're moving, confirm it still exists — regimes change fast. Our primer on how to establish tax residency abroad walks through the mechanics, and Americans should note the US taxes on citizenship, not residence.

How this fits a borderless plan

A ranking is a shortlist, not a plan. The durable move is to separate the decisions: where you are a tax resident, where you hold residency or a second passport, and where you actually spend your days can all differ. Start with residency — our Panama tax-residency guide and Portugal tax-residency guide cover the two most popular entry points on this list.

If long-term optionality matters, pair a comfortable base with a stronger travel document or an EU foothold. See our guide to Portugal's golden visa for a residency-to-citizenship route, and the broader roundups of golden visas in 2026 and the most powerful passports. The country you love living in and the passport you want to hold rarely need to be the same one.

How Expectat helps you settle somewhere that fits

Reading a ranking is the easy part — turning it into a move is where most people stall. Here’s how we close that gap with you:

• We start from your numbers, not a brochure. A first session maps your income, assets, citizenship and family against the shortlist above — and tells you honestly which options fit you, and which only look good on paper.
• We narrow the shortlist to your two or three. Matching this broad list against your income, family and goals — then building the plan for the winner.
• We execute on the ground. We sequence the filings, introduce the vetted local lawyers, tax advisors and banks who’ve done it before, and stay with you until it’s actually done.

You don’t need to become a tax expert or trust a forum thread — that’s our job. Book a strategy call and we’ll turn this into a concrete, personal plan.