Panama has been named the best country for expats for the third year in a row, according to a survey conducted by InterNations.
Close to 8,000 expats across 162 different nationalities asked to share how happy they were in their adopted home across five indices – working abroad, personal finance, quality of life, expat essentials, and ease of settling in – for the Expat Insider survey 2026.
The Central American nation ranked second for both ease of settling in, which includes how friendly the locals are, and how easy it is to get used to the local culture, and expat essentials, which covers ease of getting a visa and dealing with local bureaucracy.
Around 87% of expats in Panama are happy with their life abroad, versus 70% globally, while a third want to stay in the country forever.
Mexico came out second best, coming in first on the ease of settling in index, thanks to how easy it is to find friends and how welcome expats felt.
The happiest expats in the world can be found in Thailand, which ranked third overall, with as many as 86% of expats saying they are happy there and a further 42% wanting to stay forever. Expats praise the low cost of living, which was viewed positively by 85%, alongside affordable housing that’s easy to find.
How did Europe fare in the Expat Insider survey 2026?
Just three European countries made it into the top ten, none of which were ranked among the five best.
Spain ranked 6th and is the best place for expats on the continent – coming out in first place in the quality of life index thanks to its great weather, things to do outside of work, affordable public transport and the general opportunity to travel.
Neighbouring Portugal was next in eighth place, ranking fourth in the personal finance index and seventh for ease of settling in.
Luxembourg rounded out the top 10, coming in fourth for working abroad, having been ranked first for salary and job security.
For a country to be included in the overall ranking, at least 50 expats from that destination had to have completed the survey. In 2026, 31 countries were evaluated.
On the other end of the scale, the UK, Türkiye, Germany and Norway took 28th, 29th, 30th and last place respectively.
The Scandinavian nation may be among the happiest countries in the world, but expats aren’t seemingly sharing in the joy.
Norway placed dead last for ease of settling in, and 30th for both quality of life and personal finance.
Germany didn’t fare much better, and came in last place for expat essentials, with expats citing problems with digital life, admin topics, housing and the language barrier.
It also ranked 28th for ease of settling in, and 23rd for personal finance.
The best countries for expats to live in 2026
- Panama
- Mexico
- Thailand
- UAE
- Brazil
- Spain
- Singapore
- Portugal
- Malaysia
- Luxembourg
Read the full article here
