As every year, the InterNations website unveils the results of its survey in order to find out the best destinations for expats. Portugal arrives this year in 5th place globally, while the country was still 3rd in 2020. Despite this decline in a pandemic year, Portugal remains the best country in Europe for expats, especially for quality of life , but the weak point of the country remains the work. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about the ranking of the best countries for expats.

Portugal still European champion! Indeed, the country appears in 5th place out of 59 destinations, according to InterNations' Expat Insider 2021 report. Portugal is the highest ranked European country. InterNations today released its report for 2021, one of the world's most comprehensive surveys of living and working abroad, with more than 12,000 respondents.

Overall, the survey covered 59 destinations around the world, ranking the best and worst countries for expats and with detailed information on five areas of expat life: quality of life, cost of living , personal finances, work abroad and ease of installation. In this particular year, those interviewed also explained how they are dealing with the pandemic and how it has affected their lives.

The study shows that this "affected the plans for leaving abroad by about two in five expats in Portugal (37%), which is exactly the world average". Only 1% of expatriates will return home sooner than initially expected, many of them wishing to stay longer: “more than a quarter (27%) have decided to stay in Portugal and not to return home to a nearby to come up".

Out of the 59 countries in the Expat Insider 2021 survey, the 3 best destinations for expats in 2021 are Taiwan (1st), Mexico (2nd) and Costa Rica (3rd). In contrast, expats rank Kuwait (59th), Italy (58th) and South Africa (57th) as the worst.

Portugal therefore ranks 5th out of 59 destinations, ranking among the top 10 in three indices: quality of life (3rd), ease of installation (9th) and cost of living (9th). Although the country also scores well on the personal finance index (14th), the labor index is the weakest point (36th). Indeed, too often the economic work situation is overlooked when planning an expatriation, and it is not easy to find qualified work as an expatriate in Portugal.

Here are the top 10 best countries for expats in 2021:

1. Taiwan

2. Mexico

3. Costa Rica

4. Malaysia

5. Portugal

6. New Zealand

7. Australia

8. Ecuador

9. Canada

10. Vietnam

Lisbob reminds you that if you want to settle in Portugal, the first but also the most important step is to obtain the NIF, the Portuguese tax number. Good thing, this is something we can do for you, remotely, by clicking here.

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