Panama Tops InterNations' 31-Country Expat Ranking for 3rd Year as Norway Finishes Last
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 24
Panama Tops InterNations' 31-Country Expat Ranking for 3rd Year as Norway Finishes Last
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 24
Summary
Panama ranked 1st out of 31 destinations in InterNations' 2026 Expat Insider survey, extending its lead for a third straight year, while Mexico and Thailand completed the top three.
87% of expats in Panama said they are happy with life abroad, helped by top scores in Working Abroad and Personal Finance, with 90% saying their income supports a comfortable life.
Mexico held 2nd place by leading Ease of Settling In, while Thailand placed 3rd and posted the happiest expats overall at 86%, alongside strong scores for cost of living and housing.
Norway finished 31st, with just 46% of expats happy there, as poor results on settling in, social life and cost of living outweighed strong marks for nature and air quality.
Germany ranked 30th and Türkiye 29th, underscoring how bureaucracy, language barriers and weak economic or work conditions dragged several major destinations into the survey's bottom tier.