Panama has been named the best country for expats for the third year in a row, according to a survey conducted by InterNations.
Close to 8,000 expats across 162 different nationalities asked to share how happy they were in their adopted home across five indices – working abroad, personal finance, quality of life, expat essentials, and ease of settling in – for the Expat Insider survey 2026.
The Central American nation ranked second for both ease of settling in, which includes how friendly the locals are, and how easy it is to get used to the local culture, and expat essentials, which covers ease of getting a visa and dealing with local bureaucracy.
Around 87% of expats in Panama are happy with their life abroad, versus 70% globally, while a third want to stay in the country forever.
Mexico came out second best, coming in first on the ease of settling in index, thanks to how easy it is to find friends and how welcome expats felt.
