What are the world’s most welcoming countries? Expats and tourists alike will feel more at home in a nation where the inhabitants are open and kind, with a favorable attitude toward visitors and various cultures.
Some countries, however, are nicer than others, making it easier to feel at home. If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable in a friendly nation or welcomed in an unfriendly one, you’ll know that “friendliness” depends on your personal experiences. However, patterns may and do arise when enough personal experiences are pooled.
A yearly poll of ex-pats by the expat-focused website InterNations reveals which nations provide the best conditions for international residents and tourists.
The poll looks at various factors, such as how easy it is to learn the language, how good the environment and health care systems are, and how welcoming the locals are to expatriates in each nation.
More than 12,000 people participated in the poll, hailing from 174 different nations and regions worldwide.
The World’s 10 Most Amicable Nations (2021 InterNations):
- Taiwan
- Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Oman
- Colombia
- Portugal
- Indonesia
- Greece
- Philippines
- Brazil
Some major tourist destinations such as the United Kingdom, France, and the United States slid into the ranks of the hostile or impolite countries in the study, ranked 34th, 42nd, and 29th (out of 59) correspondingly.
The rankings in this poll alter considerably within a few years since various things may substantially impact a country’s attitude towards international tourists or ex-pats. Even the United Kingdom has dropped from the 19th to the 56th most friendly country.
According to one Portuguese ex-pat, the diminished friendliness in Portugal may be connected to Brexit. As far as expat-friendly nations go, Switzerland, Austria, and Kuwait are among the least welcoming.
As of 2021, Taiwan was recognized as the world’s nicest and most inviting nation for expatriates.’ As well as having kind and inviting citizens, many locals also know English, so learning the language shouldn’t be a problem.
Then there’s the Quality of Life category, which Taiwan has won for the last four years. According to a poll, 94% of people believe that Taiwan’s health care system is inexpensive, and 96% believe that it is of high quality, which explains why the country came in first place in the category of health and well-being.
Taiwan’s air quality looks to be its weakest region, placing 29th in the rankings, right in the center. There are several reasons why ex-pats in Taiwan are happier than those in any other country, including their occupations and the economy.
The World’s Most Unfriendly Places
When it comes to friendliness and ease of adjustment, Kuwait ranks 59th of 59 nations. Expats in Kuwait believe they don’t feel at home in the local culture and that the Kuwaiti people are unwelcoming to outsiders at a rate of 46 percent and 44 percent, respectively (compared to 18 percent globally).
In addition to Kuwait, Japan and Denmark round out the bottom of the list for ex-pats who claim that the language is tough to learn and the people are kind, but they don’t accept outsiders into their culture.
Only the lowest-ranked nations in this year’s poll were included in this year’s findings. More than 130 nations were left off of the list, and they might be more or less friendly than the ones that did cut.
Country | Rank | 2022 Population |
---|---|---|
Portugal | 1 | 10140.5700 |
Taiwan | 2 | 23888.5950 |
Mexico | 3 | 131562.7720 |
Cambodia | 4 | 17168.6390 |
Bahrain | 5 | 1783.9830 |
Costa Rica | 6 | 5182.3540 |
Oman | 7 | 5323.9930 |
Colombia | 8 | 51512.7620 |
Vietnam | 9 | 98953.5410 |
Canada | 10 | 38388.4190 |
Philippines | 11 | 112508.9940 |
Peru | 12 | 33684.2080 |
Ecuador | 13 | 18113.3610 |
Brazil | 14 | 215353.5930 |
Uganda | 16 | 48432.8630 |
Spain | 17 | 46719.1420 |
Myanmar | 18 | 55227.1430 |
Romania | 19 | 19031.3350 |
Thailand | 20 | 70078.2030 |
Indonesia | 21 | 279134.5050 |
Malaysia | 22 | 33181.0720 |
Cyprus | 23 | 1223.3870 |
Israel | 24 | 8922.8920 |
Malta | 25 | 444.0330 |
Argentina | 26 | 46010.2340 |
Kenya | 27 | 56215.2210 |
Kazakhstan | 28 | 19205.0430 |
Turkey | 29 | 85561.9760 |
Ireland | 30 | 5020.1990 |
New Zealand | 31 | 4898.2030 |
Greece | 32 | 10316.6370 |
Nigeria | 33 | 216746.9340 |
India | 34 | 1406631.7760 |
Netherlands | 35 | 17211.4470 |
United States | 36 | 334805.2690 |
Australia | 37 | 26068.7920 |
Hong Kong | 38 | 7604.2990 |
Luxembourg | 39 | 642.3710 |
Singapore | 40 | 5943.5460 |
Italy | 41 | 60262.7700 |
South Korea | 42 | 51329.8990 |
China | 43 | 1448471.4000 |
Japan | 44 | 125584.8380 |
Ukraine | 45 | 43192.1220 |
Panama | 46 | 4446.9640 |
Germany | 47 | 83883.5960 |
Norway | 48 | 5511.3700 |
Chile | 49 | 19250.1950 |
Belgium | 50 | 11668.2780 |
Sweden | 51 | 10218.9710 |
Russia | 52 | 145805.9470 |
Qatar | 53 | 2979.9150 |
Poland | 54 | 37739.7850 |
France | 55 | 65584.5180 |
United Kingdom | 56 | 68497.9070 |
South Africa | 57 | 60756.1350 |
Hungary | 58 | 9606.2590 |
Saudi Arabia | 59 | 35844.9090 |
Denmark | 60 | 5834.9500 |
Finland | 61 | 5554.9600 |
Czech Republic | 62 | 10736.7840 |
Switzerland | 63 | 8773.6370 |
Austria | 64 | 9066.7100 |
Kuwait | 65 | 4380.3260 |
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