New Delhi: Defending its country, three years in a row, Panama has once again been named as the world’s best country for expats according to InterNations latest survey.
The world’s largest community for expats recently shared its 2026 Expat Insider survey. Mexico comes in second, followed by Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil.
However, the survey was conducted from 1 February to 31 March 2026, and does not take into account the changes following the US-Iran war.
Best of the best
Of the 31 countries listed in the survey, Panama led the Working Abroad and Personal Finance Indices.
The Central American nation ranked second for both Ease of Settling In and Expat Essentials. With 87 per cent of expats in Panama happy with their life abroad.
Another 90 per cent considered their disposable household income enough to lead a comfortable life, with the cost of living getting a positive rating from 69 per cent of the respondents.
The survey further found that most expats found it easy to feel at home in Mexico. It topped the Ease of Settling In Index. However, it ranked 16th in the Quality of Life Index and 25th in the Safety & Security subcategory.
But the world’s happiest expats were not found in Latin America; instead, they were in Southeast Asia. With 86 per cent of expats happy with their life abroad (versus 70 per cent globally). Another 42 per cent said that they wanted to stay in Thailand forever.
Who ranked the lowest?
On the flip side, Norway was voted the world’s loneliest country. Fewer than 46 per cent of expats were unhappy with their life abroad, and only 31 per cent felt at home in the country.
The Scandinavian country also ranked 30th in the Personal Finance category, as well as the Quality of Life Index.
A notch above was Germany. The European nation ranked poorly in most categories, including expat essentials, local bureaucracy, housing, language barrier, ease of settling in, and friendly local population.
However, 60 per cent of expats were happy with their life in Germany (vs. 70 per cent globally).
Turkey came as the third worst place for expats, with financial strain being one of the many factors.
Belgium ranked in the middle at 15th, with the United States of America close behind at 20th.