France allows some remote work on long-stay visitor visa

Best Countries for Quality of Life (2026)

Every country in our catalog ranked for quality of life in 2026. Higher scores blend safety, healthcare, infrastructure, and personal freedom.

Last updated

Quality of life is not one score you can feel in a weekend. This ranking blends safety, healthcare, infrastructure, and personal freedom for people thinking about full-time life abroad.

Start here for a broad shortlist, then use Compare and each country profile to check costs, visas, and climate before you commit.

RankCountryQuality of life Score
#1Switzerland9.4
#2Sweden9.3
#3Norway9.3
#4Monaco9.3
#5Germany9.2
#6Denmark9.2
#7Finland9.2
#8Luxembourg9.2
#9Iceland9.2
#10Singapore9.1
#11Liechtenstein9.1
#12Netherlands9.0
#13Japan9.0
#14Canada8.9
#15Austria8.9
#16Taiwan8.8
#17Australia8.7
#18Belgium8.7
#19France8.7
#20South Korea8.7
#21Estonia8.7
#22San Marino8.7
#23New Zealand8.6
#24Ireland8.5
#25United Kingdom8.5
#26Andorra8.5
#27Malta8.4
#28Qatar8.4
#29United Arab Emirates (Dubai)8.4
#30Portugal8.3
#31Italy8.3
#32Hong Kong8.3
#33Uruguay8.3
#34Croatia8.3
#35Latvia8.3
#36Spain8.2
#37Czech Republic8.2
#38Chile8.2
#39Lithuania8.2
#40Costa Rica8.1
#41United States8.0
#42Poland7.9
#43Barbados7.9
#44Cyprus7.9
#45Hungary7.7
#46Bahamas7.7
#47Greece7.6
#48Panama7.6
#49Saudi Arabia7.6
#50Mauritius7.6
#51Malaysia7.5
#52China7.4
#53Azerbaijan7.4
#54Seychelles7.4
#55Argentina7.3
#56South Africa7.1
#57Mexico7.1
#58Colombia7.1
#59Ecuador7.1
#60Turkiye7.1
#61Thailand7.1
#62Georgia7.1
#63Romania7.1
#64Vietnam7.0
#65Kazakhstan7.0
#66Ghana7.0
#67Bulgaria7.0
#68Cape Verde7.0
#69Brazil6.9
#70Peru6.9
#71Serbia6.9
#72Moldova6.7
#73Bosnia and Herzegovina6.7
#74Paraguay6.6
#75Indonesia6.6
#76Philippines6.6
#77Sri Lanka6.6
#78Tunisia6.6
#79Morocco6.5
#80Bolivia6.4
#81Uzbekistan6.4
#82Ivory Coast6.4
#83Kenya6.3
#84Senegal6.3
#85Russia6.1
#86Cambodia6.1
#87Algeria6.1
#88Benin6.1
#89Laos6.0
#90Mongolia6.0
#91Kyrgyzstan6.0
#92Turkmenistan6.0
#93Egypt5.9
#94Bangladesh5.9
#95Nepal5.8
#96Nigeria5.8
#97Togo5.8
#98Iran5.6
#99India5.6
#100Pakistan5.6
#101Tajikistan5.6
#102Ethiopia5.6
#103Sierra Leone5.6
#104Ukraine5.6
#105Guinea5.5
#106Liberia5.4
#107Burkina Faso5.2
#108Myanmar4.8
#109Libya4.7
#110Venezuela4.6
#111Sudan4.6
#112Mali4.6
#113Chad4.5
#114Niger4.5

Why the leaders rank here for quality of life

The top countries tend to combine strong public systems with safe daily life and reliable infrastructure. They are not always cheap, but they make routine life easier once you are settled.

  1. #1
    Switzerland9.4

    Switzerland leads through excellent healthcare, safe cities, strong infrastructure, and high trust in public systems.

  2. #2
    Sweden9.3

    Sweden pairs personal freedom with strong healthcare and safe, well-run cities for long-term residents.

  3. #3
    Norway9.3

    Norway combines safety, public services, and infrastructure quality in a way that supports family life and solo moves alike.

  4. #4
    Monaco9.3

    Monaco scores high on safety, healthcare access, and premium infrastructure, though costs and residency rules narrow who it fits.

  5. #5
    Germany9.2

    Germany brings reliable transport, strong healthcare, and broad civic protections across a large, practical relocation market.

Rankings are based on our scoring model. Always verify visa and cost information with official sources before making relocation decisions.

How we calculate these rankings

We average four factors per country (equal weight): safety, healthcare, infrastructure, and freedom. Higher combined scores rank higher.

What this does not measure: Housing costs, taxes, visa eligibility, or whether one specific city fits your lifestyle. A high score does not mean the country is simple or cheap to move to.

Updates: Rankings refresh when we redeploy after underlying country data changes.

Explore these countries

Open any country profile for full quality of life context, visas, and scores. Use compare when you are weighing a shortlist.

Showing top 8 of 114 ranked countries. Scroll the table above for the full list.

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