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If you are an aspiring expat, where in the world should you move to?
Moving abroad and laying down roots in another country is a life-changing choice. Whether you are planning to settle somewhere new for a better way of life, or looking to set up your business overseas, there’s a lot to think about before taking the next big step.
We have refreshed our Worldwide Expat Index to reveal the best countries for expats to settle in. Looking at some of the world’s richest and most developed countries, we delved deep into data surrounding several factors such as happiness and well-being, healthcare, employment opportunities and quality of life. We combined this data into a single index, allowing us to determine which foreign nations offer the best way of life for expats.
To better support yourself and your family while moving countries it’s vital to choose reliable international health insurance that will cover medical treatments and access to private health care internationally.
Expat index score:
Out of 59 countries included in our Expat Index, Australia ranked as the best place for expats to live, with the top score of 8.20. A popular destination for backpackers, working holidays and digital nomads, Australia also offers visa opportunities for skilled workers in many fields where a skills shortage exists. Combine this with the great weather and vast country to explore, and it’s easy to see why Australia is such a big hit with expats. The category Australia performed best in was happiness, topping the table with a score of 9.08 out of 10.
Iceland takes second place in our Expat Index with an overall score of 7.41. While this remote island nation had the second-best score in the happiness category at 8.97, it also scored very well in a variety of other factors. In health, for example, Iceland had one of the lowest Covid mortality rates in our study at 61 deaths per 100,000 people, as well as a life expectancy of 83 years.
The third best country for expats is Finland, which achieved a score of 7.25 on our Expat Index, just missing out on second place. Finland achieved a top-ten placement in each category of factors, reaching third place for its quality of life with a score of 8.28, which was helped by the country having the lowest pollution levels in our index.
Switzerland ranked as the fourth best place for expats to live in, with a score of 7.12. This beautiful alpine country nestled between France, Germany and Italy scored very highly for the majority of factors that we measured. The category Switzerland performed best in was health, finishing fourth with a score of 7.36 out of 10, which was helped by the country’s very long life expectancy of 83 years.
Last but not least, New Zealand takes fifth place in the Expat Index with a score of 7.06. Another popular destination for backpackers and working holidays, New Zealand offers a more relaxed and peaceful environment compared to its lively Australian counterpart. Like Australia, New Zealand performs best in the happiness category, taking fourth place with a score of 8.51.
Country
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World Happiness Report:
World Happiness Report
Finland is the happiest country according to the World Happiness Report rankings with a score of 7.80 out of 10, although this is a slight drop from its previous score of 7.82 in 2022.
Amount of space (people per km2):
Amount of space
Australia has the highest amount of space for people on average as there are nine people per km2 down under. On average there are 956 people per km2 for the countries analysed, and Singapore has the most at 21,810 per km2.
Expats as share of population:
Expats as share of population
Bahrain had by far the highest percentage of expats in their population with 64%, this is much higher than second-placed Luxembourg’s 46%. To put this into perspective, the average share of the population that are expats across all countries in our study is 14.9%.
Combined happiness score:
Category winner
Australia had the highest combined expat happiness score at 9.08/10. Australia is the country with the most space per person, while it also scored highly in the World Happiness Report and has a very large expat community making up 29.4% of the total population. Iceland also performed very well in the happiness category, taking second place with a score of 8.97.
Average life expectancy:
Life expectancy
Japan has the longest life expectancy of any country in our study, with the average Japanese person now living to the ripe old age of 85. This far exceeds the average life expectancy in our study of 79, and is a full two decades more than in South Africa, which has the lowest life expectancy at just 65 years.
Average people per hospital:
Average people per hospital
Bahrain had the best ratio of people to hospitals in our study with there being a hospital for every 1,869 residents. This excellent ratio is due to the 788 hospitals in the country catering to a population of only 1.47 million people.
Hospital beds per 1,000 people:
Hospital beds per 1,000 people
Japan has the best ratio of hospital beds with 13 beds per 1,000 people, though it’s closely followed by South Korea with 12.4 beds per 1,000 people. The average across all countries in our study is 4.13 beds per 1,000 people, which makes Japan’s high score all the more impressive.
COVID-19 fatalities per 100,000 people:
COVID-19 fatalities per 100,000 people
The country with the lowest number of COVID-related fatalities compared to its population is the UAE, where there were only 25 deaths for every 100,000 people. This is closely followed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which took second place with 26 COVID deaths per 100,000 people.
Physicians per 100,000 people:
Physicians per 100,000 people
Greece has the highest number of physicians per 100,000 people, with an average of 7.1. Portugal has the second highest number at 5.5 per 100,000 people, while the average number of physicians across all countries in our study is 3.32 per 100,000.
Combined health score:
As the country with the longest life expectancy, it seems only fair that Japan should also have the highest score for the health category as a whole. Japan’s Combined Health Score of 8.07 was the result of excellent performance for nearly every health-related factor, topping the table for both life expectancy and the number of hospital beds per person, and finishing fourth for the fewest people per hospital.
Unemployment rate:
Unemployment rate
Bahrain has the lowest unemployment rate, as only 1.5% of the the total labour force population were not in work. On the other hand, South Africa has the highest rate with 28.8% of working-age people being unemployed, which is more than four times our study’s average of 7.07%.
Average income per capita:
Average income per capita
Luxembourg has the highest average income at £54,563 per capita, making it a lucrative place to work. These high potential earnings are over £35,000 more than the global average of £19,418.
Labour rights index score:
Overall labour rights
Both Belgium and Greece have the highest overall labour rights score with 96/100 in total. Finland has the second-highest score at 94/100, and the average across all countries in our study is 81.30/100.
Combined employment score:
Denmark is the country that scored the best overall across a range of employment factors, earning a Combined Employment Score of 7.77. The average income per capita in Denmark is the fourth highest at US$52,666, while the unemployment rate sits at 5.1%. Denmark is closely followed by Germany, which takes second place with a score of 7.5, while the Czech Republic came in third with a score of 7.41.
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Level of crime:
Level of crime
The lowest level of crime is found in the UAE with a rating of 15.1/100. This is less than half the average crime level of 39.06, showing the UAE to be an exceptionally crime-free country.
Average apartment cost (rent per month):
Average apartment cost
The country with the least expensive rent is India, where on average it will cost £118 per month to rent an apartment. Singapore has the most expensive, with apartments costing £2,423 per month, though prices are at a premium in the small city-state due to a lack of available space.
Pollution index:
Pollution index
Finland has the lowest pollution levels out of anywhere in our study with a Pollution Index score of 12/100, which is considerably below the study-wide average of 43.47.
Drinking water quality
As well as good air, Finland has very high-quality drinking water which achieved a score of 96.83. The average score for drinking water quality is 74.60, while the lowest score for drinking water was found in Malta at 39.66.
Garbage disposal:
Garbage disposal
A third quality of life factor in which Finland comes out top is garbage disposal, where the Scandinavian nation achieved a score of 88.96. The average score in our study is 60.92, with Panama receiving the lowest score of 31.18.
Quality of parks:
Quality of parks
Latvia has the best quality parks anywhere in the world with a score of 88/100, while Malta has the lowest quality parks with a score of 22/100.
Gender equality:
Gender equality
Iceland has the best score when it comes to gender equality, as the volcanic island nation achieved a score of 91/100, a full 17 points higher than the average in this study. Other high-scoring countries for gender equality include Estonia, which had the second-highest score of 86, as well as Norway, New Zealand and Sweden, all of which scored above 80.
Combined quality of life score:
Estonia has the highest overall quality of life score at 8.43 and is closely followed by Slovenia with a score of 8.31. Estonia finished in the top 10 for every quality of life factor outside of rent prices, placing second for gender equality and fourth for having low levels of pollution.
Methodology
List of Countries
To create a list of countries to study we looked at countries that fit into three groups:
Happiness
Health
Employment
Quality of Life
Combined Data:
More results…
