Best countries to live in 2026: safety, schools, health
Money is one line of the decision. This ranking uses public figures for the others, and keeps your net pay next to each country. Each country gets its rank among those covered on each measure: homicide rate, political stability and rule of law for safety; PISA results at 15 for schools; life expectancy and fine-particle air pollution for health. The score out of 100 is the average of those ranks, with the three themes counting equally, so it shows relative position and nothing more. National figures hide a lot. A safe country has dangerous districts, and PISA measures the public system where your child may attend a private one. Each country page lists the underlying values so you can see what drives the score.
- 1 Hong Kong85% kept83 out of 100$10,669/ month
- 2 Switzerland76% kept82 out of 100$9,490/ month
- 3 Japan63% kept81 out of 100$7,896/ month
- 4 Singapore90% kept79 out of 100$11,229/ month
- 5 Monaco86% kept77 out of 100$10,764/ month
- 6 Ireland60% kept72 out of 100$7,538/ month
- 7 Finland60% kept72 out of 100$7,477/ month
- 8 Sweden62% kept70 out of 100$7,770/ month
- 9 Luxembourg61% kept70 out of 100$7,611/ month
- 10 South Korea69% kept69 out of 100$8,629/ month
- 11 Australia69% kept69 out of 100$8,646/ month
- 12 New Zealand68% kept65 out of 100$8,477/ month
- 13 Canada65% kept65 out of 100$8,116/ month
- 14 Denmark60% kept63 out of 100$7,462/ month
- 15 Norway65% kept63 out of 100$8,124/ month
- 16 Netherlands58% kept51 out of 100$7,254/ month
- 17 Austria62% kept48 out of 100$7,693/ month
- 18 Portugal54% kept48 out of 100$6,782/ month
- 19 United Kingdom65% kept47 out of 100$8,167/ month
- 20 Spain63% kept46 out of 100$7,890/ month
- 21 Belgium50% kept46 out of 100$6,225/ month
- 22 Malta70% kept46 out of 100$8,732/ month
- 23 Italy54% kept45 out of 100$6,761/ month
- 24 France61% kept42 out of 100$7,676/ month
- 25 Germany57% kept42 out of 100$7,087/ month
- 26 United StatesYou76% kept41 out of 100$9,483/ month
- 27 Poland59% kept40 out of 100$7,401/ month
- 28 Qatar100% kept36 out of 100$12,500/ month
- 29 United Arab Emirates100% kept35 out of 100$12,500/ month
- 30 Greece57% kept26 out of 100$7,146/ month
- 31 Cyprus69% kept23 out of 100$8,635/ month
- 32 Brazil73% kept9 out of 100$9,101/ month
- 33 Saudi Arabia100% kept9 out of 100$12,500/ month
- 34 Mexico70% kept7 out of 100$8,720/ month
- 35 Thailand75% kept5 out of 100$9,430/ month
Same gross salary everywhere, converted at the 2 November 2026 exchange rates. Single employee, no children. Buying power uses World Bank 2025 national price levels: it says nothing about rent in one city. A real job abroad rarely pays the same. How we calculate
Questions
How is the safety, schools and health score worked out?
Each country gets its rank among those covered on homicides, political stability, rule of law, PISA results, life expectancy and fine particles. Ranks are averaged within each theme, then the three themes count equally. The score shows relative position only: a country at 80 is not twice as good as one at 40, and missing figures stay out.
Do PISA results tell me about international schools?
Not directly. PISA measures 15-year-olds across a whole country, mostly in the system most families use. A child in a private international school may have a very different experience. Use PISA as a signal of the local system, then read the published fee of a reference international school, shown on each country page, and visit the schools themselves.
Does the score include the cost of living?
No, because cost already appears in the view of what your net pay buys, and counting it twice would distort the ranking. Each country page shows housing and everyday price levels separately. In the plan you can tick cost of living, which then ranks your shortlist on what your net pay buys, housing included.
Figures 2026, checked on