Spain has been named the best place in Europe to retire and third worldwide after scoring strongly for quality of life, mobility and citizenship and its residency procedure

Spain has been named Europe’s best retirement destination thanks to its high quality of life, strong mobility and citizenship score and relatively smooth residency procedure.

The country finished third worldwide in the 2026 Global Retirement Report and Index behind only Uruguay and Mauritius, with a score of 99.60 out of 100.

The study, by Global Citizen Solutions, compares 46 retirement and passive-income visa programmes across 46 countries using five weighted measures including quality of life, mobility and citizenship, tax optimisation, quality of procedure, and costs and investment.

Spain scored 94 out of 100 for quality of life, placing it fifth among all 46 programmes, as well as 98 for mobility and citizenship and 88 for its procedure.

The report estimates that its Non-Lucrative Visa takes between just four and eight months from application to receiving a residency card.

But despite its attractions, Spain’s tax score was dragged down by rules taxing residents on worldwide income, as well as wealth and inheritance taxes.

It still finished just 0.3 points behind overall winner Uruguay, which topped the global ranking with 99.90.

Mauritius followed on 99.80, while Costa Rica came fourth on 99.50 and Portugal fifth on 99.30.

Paraguay ranked sixth, Latvia seventh, Andorra eighth, Italy ninth and Greece tenth.

Europe was the most heavily represented region near the top of the table, taking six of the global top 10 places.

It also placed 10 of its 12 programmes in the world’s top 20.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey España said many British buyers are already purchasing properties with retirement in mind years before they expect to stop working.

The company also recorded an 18 per cent year-to-date increase in sales on the Costa del Sol as of September 2026.

Marc Pritchard, of Wimpey España, said: “Many of our buyers are looking 10 or 20 years ahead to their retirement and choosing properties that will serve them in their golden years as well as providing a place to create many happy memories with family and friends before then.

“Typically, British buyers prefer apartments as their property type, as they enable them to be at the heart of the action, whether on a golf resort or somewhere that balances beach access with amenities being within strolling distance.”

World’s top 20 retirement destinations, ranked out of 100

1. Uruguay – 99.90
2. Mauritius – 99.80
3. Spain – 99.60
4. Costa Rica – 99.50
5. Portugal – 99.30
6. Paraguay – 98.20
7. Latvia – 98.00
8. Andorra – 97.80
9. Italy – 97.20
10. Greece – 95.90
11. Chile – 94.70
12. New Zealand – 93.60
13. Austria – 92.90
14. Albania – 91.70
15. Brazil – 91.40
16. Argentina – 91.30
17. Panama – 90.80
18. Cyprus – 89.90
19. United Arab Emirates – 88.50
20. Malta – 88.10

READ MORE: The new Residence & Citizenship Planning supplement: out now. Our latest special supplement is packed with exclusive insights, new data and country updates on how wealthy families are spreading their lives across multiple jurisdictions.

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_{Main image: Spain’s sunshine and coastal lifestyle helped it rank as Europe’s best retirement destination in the 2026 Global Retirement Report and Index. Credit: Özlem Yıldız/Pexels.}