World's most livable cities for expats revealed - and affordability wins

New Global Ranking Shows What Expats Really Want From Cities in 2026

More than 300 million people now live outside their country of birth — nearly double the number in 1990 — and a new global ranking suggests the best cities for expats are no longer defined only by wealth or infrastructure. Instead, affordability, healthcare, social integration and even passport mobility are increasingly shaping where remote workers, retirees and globally mobile professionals choose to relocate. 

 

In its inaugural “World’s Most Livable Cities for Expats” report, Global Citizen Solutions ranked 35 cities across six continents, with Singapore leading on mobility, Southeast Asia dominating affordability, and European capitals scoring high on safety but struggling on social integration.

   

Singapore leads on mobility as global migration priorities shift

 

Singapore emerged as the strongest city globally on mobility, reflecting the growing importance of:

 

passport access,

visa flexibility,

and international connectivity

in relocation decisions.

 

The report argues that globally mobile individuals increasingly view:

 

residency,

visa freedom,

and cross-border mobility

as quality-of-life assets rather than merely immigration benefits.

 

That trend has accelerated sharply after the pandemic as remote work and location-independent lifestyles became mainstream.

 

Southeast Asia dominates affordability rankings 

 

Southeast Asia and the Caucasus dominate the affordability tier. Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Bali (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), and Tbilisi (Georgia) lead the index on cost of living, pairing low operating costs with established expat communities and conditions well suited to location-independent work. For digital nomads, retirees, and entrepreneurs for whom financial flexibility is central, these cities remain strong relocation candidates regardless of composite position. 

Bangkok, Bali and Ho Chi Minh City Shine in New Expat Livability Index

 

Lisbon and Barcelona stand out as “all-rounder” expat cities

 

Lisbon and Barcelona offer rare cross-profile versatility. Both cities combine moderate costs with strong healthcare, high social accessibility. The GIU identifies them as rare cases where retirees, families, and location-independent professionals all find a viable fit within the same destination — helping explain their sustained prominence in voluntary relocation flows from both the UK and the United States.

 

Latin America leads on social integration San José (Costa Rica) recorded the highest social integration score in the entire sample, with Mexico City (Mexico), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Panama City (Panama) reinforcing the regional pattern. Latin American cities consistently combine low operating costs with strong social accessibility — a profile well suited to relocators who prioritize community and ease of integration.

 

Cities were assessed across seven indicators — cost of living, safety, air quality, healthcare, ease of settling in, English proficiency, and enhanced mobility — drawn from publicly available datasets and normalised on a 0–100 scale, where higher values always indicate better outcomes. Safety and healthcare carry the highest combined weighting, reflecting their relative importance to long-term relocation decisions.

 

One of the GIU’s most significant findings is that the top-ranked cities on structural indicators are often the hardest to settle into socially. Vienna (4th overall) and Copenhagen (9th) record the lowest social integration scores in the entire 35-city sample. Cities offering the strongest healthcare, safety, and institutional infrastructure are frequently the most demanding to break into socially — a finding with significant practical implications for relocators.

 

“Affordability, social integration, and structural quality rarely co-occur within the same city,” added Liana Simonyan, researcher for Global Citizen Solutions’ GIU. The index renders these competing priorities explicit and measurable — which is precisely what advisors and individuals need when making high-stakes relocation decisions.”

 

The World’s Most Livable Cities for Expats report evaluates 35 geographically diverse cities across Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Oceania. Cities are assessed across seven indicators drawn from publicly available datasets and normalised using a 0–100 min-max scale.