Expats around the world have assessed where life will be particularly worthwhile in 2025 – and where it will be expensive. The current Personal Finance Index shows clear differences between Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Expats around the world regularly survey how satisfied they are with their financial situation abroad. The basis for this is the annual Expat Insider – Personal Finance Index from InterNations. It examines factors such as the cost of living, whether disposable income is sufficient for a comfortable life and general satisfaction with one’s personal financial situation.
A clear picture will also emerge in 2025: While Asian and Latin American countries are particularly attractive and cheap for expats, several European countries and classic immigration countries such as Canada or Australia will end up at the bottom of the list.
The following ranking lists the ten cheapest and ten most expensive countries for expats in 2025, based on the results of the Personal Finance Index.
Editorial team finanzen.net
21st place: The ranking
For many emigrants, the cost of living is a decisive factor when choosing a destination country. InterNations’ annual Expat Insider – Personal Finance Index examines how satisfied expats worldwide are with their financial situation. The general cost of living, whether the disposable income is sufficient for a comfortable life and personal satisfaction with one’s own finances are assessed. The survey was conducted from February 1st to February 28th, 2025. A total of 10,085 participants were interviewed as part of this online survey.
The following overview shows the ten cheapest and the ten most expensive countries for expats in 2025. All information is based on the results of InterNations. The data is as of September 2, 2025.
Source: internations.org, Image: Sofiaworld / Shutterstock.com
20th place: Canada
Canada brings up the rear, coming in 46th place. 62 percent of expats there are dissatisfied with the cost of living, and 52 percent feel their income is inadequate. Even before the move, many people expressed concern about the high prices – which were confirmed after arrival.
Source: internations.org, Image: Mark Heirreid / Shutterstock.com
19th place: Great Britain
The United Kingdom comes in 45th. A full 61 percent of expats are dissatisfied with the cost of living (compared to 40 percent worldwide), and 51 percent think their income is not enough. Above all, high housing and everyday prices are driving up costs.
Source: internations.org, image: Heike / pixelio.de
18th place: Finland
Finland takes 44th place in the ranking. More than a third of expats there earn less than $12,000 per year. 43 percent say their income is not enough (compared to 31 percent worldwide). Added to this is the high level of dissatisfaction with the cost of living, which is complained about by 53 percent of those surveyed.
Source: internations.org, image: istock/Johan Ramberg
17th place: Türkiye
Turkey is in 43rd place. Despite some low prices, there is great dissatisfaction. The reasons are inflation, strong exchange rate fluctuations and an uncertain economic situation. Many expats find their income to be inadequate.
Source: internations.org, image: grafvision / Shutterstock.com
16th place: Qatar
Qatar is new among the bottom performers in 42nd place. The question of whether the income is sufficient for a comfortable life was rated particularly poorly – here Qatar comes in last place. In order to maintain a Western standard of living, expats have to spend significantly more than elsewhere.
Source: internations.org, image: Sven Hansche / Shutterstock.com
15th place: Singapore
Singapore ranks 41st, making it into the bottom 10 for the third year in a row. Expats rate the cost of living there as the highest in the world (46th out of 46). Even with good salaries, the income is often not enough to maintain the expensive standard of living.
Source: internations.org, Image: PrasitRodphan / Shutterstock.com
14th place: South Korea
The biggest loser is South Korea in 40th place. The country fell 25 places, and the proportion of expats satisfied with their financial situation halved from 70 percent to just 38 percent. The perception of the cost of living has also deteriorated significantly.
Source: internations.org, image: swissmacky / Shutterstock.com
13th place: Ireland
Ireland comes 39th in the ranking. The high cost of housing in Dublin in particular is driving up the cost of living. Many expats find that their income is not enough – a constant problem, especially for newcomers.
Source: internations.org, Image: Joe Gough / Shutterstock.com
12th place: Australia
Australia follows in 38th place. Many emigrants there complain about rising costs, especially for housing, transport and leisure activities. Accordingly, satisfaction with one’s own financial situation remains well below the global average.
Source: internations.org, image: Adrian Matthiassen / Shutterstock.com
11th place: Norway
At number 37, Norway is at the top end of the most expensive countries. It is one of the most expensive locations in Europe: particularly high housing and everyday prices are a burden on expats, whose income is often not enough to lead a comfortable lifestyle.
Source: internations.org, image: istock/Ekely
10th place: Brazil
Brazil is in tenth place. In 10th place, the country impresses with its comparatively low cost of living within the region. Expats are satisfied with both their income and their financial situation. Brazil only performs slightly weaker in terms of cost assessments, but still remains above average.
Source: internations.org, Image: Filipe Matos Frazao / Shutterstock.com
9th place: Malaysia
Malaysia has climbed into the top 10 in 2025 at number 9. Above all, the low cost of living, which even ranks fourth in the index, makes the country attractive. For most expats, their income is enough for a very comfortable life.
Source: internations.org, Image: Shahril KHMD / Shutterstock.com
8th place: Mexico
Mexico comes in 8th place and offers a very good balance of low costs and high quality of life. Satisfaction with their own financial situation is high, and incomes are significantly better than the global average.
Source: internations.org, Image: Bryan Busovicki / Shutterstock.com
7th place: Philippines
The Philippines comes in 7th place. They are among the countries with the lowest cost of living in the entire index. Many expats emphasize that even middle incomes are enough to live well. Retirees and digital nomads are particularly drawn here.
Source: internations.org, image: Miroslaw / pixelio.de
6th place: Indonesia
Indonesia also made it into the top field with 6th place. Expats there express above-average satisfaction with their financial situation. The cost of living for housing, food and services is low, meaning incomes usually far exceed what is necessary.
Source: internations.org, Image: Aleksandar Todorovic / Shutterstock.com
5th place: Thailand
Thailand secures fifth place. The country has been known for years for its low cost of living, especially when it comes to housing and food. For many expats, the income is enough to live comfortably, which is why Thailand is particularly popular with long-term emigrants.
Source: internations.org, image: Katharina Wieland Müller / pixelio.de
4th place: China
In fourth place, China’s cost of living is well below the global average. Many expats find their income here to be sufficient, and all three factors in the index perform above average.
Source: internations.org, Image: Aleksey Klints / Shutterstock.com
3rd place: Panama
Panama takes third place. In third place, the country is one of the most popular destinations for retired emigrants: 35 percent of expats are already retired (only 11 percent globally). A full 87 percent get by comfortably with their income, 78 percent are satisfied with their financial situation – many of them plan to stay permanently.
Source: internations.org, Image: Design_Bank / Shutterstock.com
2nd place: Colombia
In second place is Colombia, where 92 percent of expats say their income is sufficient or even more than enough. What is striking is that not a single respondent cited high living costs as a concern before moving. Retirees in particular benefit from the low prices – a quarter of those surveyed (25 percent) already live here in retirement.
Source: internations.org, image: istock/Norman Chan
1st place: Vietnam
Vietnam takes first place in the ranking and is considered an absolute price-performance paradise for many expats. The cost of living is extremely low, while incomes are usually sufficient for a comfortable lifestyle. All three financial factors – costs, income and satisfaction – rank in the top 10 here.
Source: internations.org, image: Rosel Eckstein / pixelio.de
