Every year, the global migrant network InterNations polls its members about their experiences abroad in an extensive survey. The goal is to find out in which countries the living and working conditions are the best, even for so-called expats, employees sent abroad by international companies. Germany did even worse this time than last year. TRAVELBOOK knows the reasons and also the further placements of the Expat Insider Report 2023.
What are the best countries to live and work in the world? To find out, as part of the Survey by the InterNations migrant network a total of 12,000 emigrants of 177 nationalities from 172 countries were interviewed. The participants are people who have moved to another country for various reasons: for love, for a thirst for adventure or for work reasons. The latter are mainly expats, i.e. employees who have been transferred abroad by companies. The prerequisite for being considered as a country was a minimum of 50 survey participants.
The survey contains 56 criteria
For the study, emigrants were asked to provide information on 56 different criteria related to their new temporary or permanent home. These have always included quality of life, financial situation and job satisfaction as well as job prospects, available recreational activities, personally perceived safety and hospitality of the locals. Since last year, the ranking has also included topics such as digital infrastructure, administration, housing and language. Not nice: Germany is in last place in the world in the current ranking.
Germany only in 49th place out of 53 – these are the reasons
Indeed, Germany is consistently doing worse. After still 36th place in 2021, it was the less than commendable 42nd place in last year’s rankings (up from 52 at the time). From 2022 to 2023, the Federal Republic had to drop another seven placements.
“Digitization ‘made in Germany’ is a joke”
Participants’ citations are also presented in the study. An expat from France complains: “It is often impossible to pay by card. Digitization ‘made in Germany’ is a joke”. In addition to the low level of digitization in the country, emigrants also find it difficult to gain a foothold in Germany due to the language barrier. As in the previous year, bureaucratic stiffness and the tense situation on the real estate market are the main sticking points. Furthermore, according to the survey, Germans are among the most hostile people in the world and make it difficult to “get used to abroad” – according to one of the interviewed categories – also in other areas. 55% said they have trouble making friends with locals. “I can’t meet new people here and nobody really wants to date me,” was the impression of one US respondent.
Where Germany is recovering points
But there have also been positive reviews for Germany in other areas. In terms of the labor market and job security, Germany is still among the top five in the world. Furthermore, the infrastructure for automobiles was positively assessed, as was the good availability of environmentally friendly goods and services.
Also interesting: 11 things to consider when emigrating
The bottom of the league
Kuwait is bottom of the table, like last year. The reasons given by the interviewees were that they were not able to freely express their opinions and develop their own personality. Furthermore, the locals are hostile, which is why the respondents rated their social life negatively.
The 10 most unpopular countries to live and work in:
- 53: Kuwait
- 52: Norway
- 51: Türkiye
- 50: South Korea
- 49: Germany
- 48: South Africa
- 47: Italy
- 46: Malta
- 45: New Zealand
- 44: Japan
The bottom-ranked countries all have in common that, according to some reports, people who have moved from abroad find it difficult to settle there. There are more differences in the answers on the subject of working abroad. Like Germany, Norway, who narrowly missed out on bottom of the table, also received points here. Turkey, Kuwait and South Korea, which performed better overall, performed significantly worse.
Also interesting: why do Germans really emigrate
Mexico was again ranked first in the Expat Insider Report
Not much happened at the top. Mexico managed to defend last year’s first place. Above all, those interviewed appreciate the friendliness of the population and the fact that it is particularly easy to make friends with the locals. Mexico also performs relatively well in terms of digital infrastructure, housing, language and administration. Finally, foreigners in Mexico love the culinary diversity and gastronomy as well as nature and the environment.
In second place is Spain, followed by Panama, Malaysia and Taiwan. The five countries perform particularly well when it comes to personal finances. The difference in quality of life is striking, with Spain in first place and Taiwan in second, while the Philippines – in the top ten overall – ranked 48th in this category.
Top 10 Most Popular Countries to Migrate According to Expat Insider Reports 2021:
- 1: Mexico
- 2: Spain
- 3: Panama
- 4: Malaysia
- 5: Taiwan
- 6: Thailand
- 7: Costa Rica
- 8: Philippines
- 9: Bahrain
- 10: Portugal
rating criticism
Since the responses of 50 country survey participants were sufficient to include the respective country in the rankings, the study is not really representative. Furthermore, many emigrants who could not participate in the survey – or, depending on the country, would not comment on the conditions for fear of retaliation – were not included in the survey.
