Spain leads Europe for expats as Panama tops global poll

Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg all make the global top 10 for expats in 2026, although several other European countries rank among the hardest places to settle

Panama has been named the world’s best country for expats for the third year running, while Spain has emerged as Europe’s highest-ranked destination in a new global survey.

Some 87 per cent of expats there said they were happy with their life abroad, while 90 per cent believed their disposable household income was enough to live comfortably.

The country also ranked first for work-life balance and for ease of finding housing in the 2026 Expat Insider ranking.

Mexico took second place overall and ranked first for ease of settling in.

Expats there gave particularly strong ratings to local friendliness and the ease of making friends, while 73 per cent said they were satisfied with their financial situation.

Thailand completed the top three and recorded the highest expat happiness score in the survey, with 86 per cent saying they were happy with life abroad.

It also ranked second for personal finances and received the best rating for cost of living.

Spain came sixth, making it the highest-ranked European country, with Portugal eighth and Luxembourg 10th.

The results paint a mixed picture for Europe, however, with eight of the 10 lowest-ranked destinations also on the continent.

Norway finished 31st and last overall, Germany came 30th and the UK was 28th. Sweden, Czechia, Italy, Austria and Switzerland also appeared in the bottom 10.

InterNations, which carried out the research, said difficulties settling in were among the biggest problems for expats in many of the lower-ranked European countries.

Norway, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Czechia and Switzerland occupied the bottom six places in its Ease of Settling In Index, with respondents reporting problems making local friends and feeling at home.

By contrast, Spain performed strongly on happiness, ranking fourth worldwide on that measure.

Portugal was among the five strongest destinations for personal finances, while Luxembourg scored well for quality of life despite complaints about the cost of living.

Norway, meanwhile, struggled with both social life and affordability. Almost three-quarters of expats there said making local friends was difficult, while just 39 per cent were satisfied with their financial situation.

Germany was marked down for bureaucracy, digital services, housing and the difficulty of settling in, with 61 per cent of expats saying dealing with local bureaucracy was difficult.

The UK ranked 28th overall and 29th for personal finances.

InterNations said the findings showed that a strong quality of life did not necessarily translate into expat satisfaction, with several European countries scoring well for their environment while performing poorly on affordability or the ease of settling in.

The 31 best and worst places for expats in 2026 are:

1.      Panama

2.      Mexico

3.      Thailand

4.      UAE

5.      Brazil

6.      Spain

7.      Singapore

8.      Portugal

9.      Malaysia

10.  Luxembourg

11.  Australia

12.  Saudi Arabia

13.  South Africa

14.  France

15.  Belgium

16.  Denmark

17.  Poland

18.  Ireland

19.  Japan

20.  USA

21.  Netherlands

22.  Switzerland

23.  Austria

24.  Italy

25.  Czechia

26.  Sweden

27.  Canada

28.  UK

29.  Türkiye

30.  Germany

31.  Norway

READ MORE: Lisbon named ‘world’s most liveable city’ for expats. Portuguese capital tops new ranking of 35 global cities for people considering a move abroad.

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_{Main image: Panama City. Panama topped the InterNations Expat Insider 2026 ranking for the third year running. Credit: Rodolfo Quirós via Pexels}