Panama Tops InterNations Expat Ranking for 3rd Straight Year as 87% Report Happiness
Updated
Updated · Euronews · Jul 27
Panama Tops InterNations Expat Ranking for 3rd Straight Year as 87% Report Happiness
3 articles · Updated · Euronews · Jul 27
Summary
InterNations again ranked Panama the best country for expats in 2026, its third straight win, after surveying nearly 8,000 expats from 162 nationalities across 31 destinations.
87% of expats in Panama said they are happy with life abroad versus 70% globally, while the country placed second for both ease of settling in and expat essentials.
Mexico ranked second overall and led the settling-in index, while Thailand took third, with 86% of expats happy there and 42% saying they want to stay forever.
Spain was Europe’s top performer in sixth place, followed by Portugal in eighth and Luxembourg in 10th; no European country made the top five.
Norway finished last, with the UK 28th, Türkiye 29th and Germany 30th, as expats cited weak settling-in, bureaucracy, housing and language barriers.