Panama Is the World's Best Country for Expats — Again
Panama has topped InterNations' Expat Insider ranking for a third consecutive year. The 2026 results reveal where the country excels, where it falls short, and what prospective residents should take from the title.
For the third year running, people who have made Panama their home have rated it the world's best country for expats.
Panama placed 1st out of 31 destinations in the InterNations Expat Insider 2026 survey. It ranks first for both Working Abroad and Personal Finance, second for Ease of Settling In and Expat Essentials, and sixth for Quality of Life. Most tellingly, 87% of respondents in Panama say they are happy with life abroad, compared with 70% globally.
This is no one-year spike. Panama climbed from third place in 2023 to first in 2024, and then held the title in both 2025 and 2026. The latest result show that its appeal is not just built on a single advantage such as taxes or climate, but that expats are giving high marks to the whole experience of building a life here.
What the ranking measures
Expat Insider is one of the largest recurring surveys focused specifically on life abroad. For the 2026 edition, people from 162 nationalities rated 53 aspects of expat life on a seven-point scale. The answers were grouped into five indices:
- Working Abroad: career prospects, salary and job security, work culture, and work-life balance
- Personal Finance: financial satisfaction, cost of living, and whether disposable income supports a comfortable life
- Quality of Life: healthcare, safety, leisure, transport, travel, and the environment
- Expat Essentials: visas, bureaucracy, digital services, housing, and language
- Ease of Settling In: welcome, local friendliness, social life, and finding friends
These five indices and respondents' general happiness with life abroad produce the overall ranking. A destination needed at least 50 respondents to qualify, which 31 countries met in 2026.
The complete 2026 result
Panama's performance is striking because there is no weak headline category:
- 1st overall
- 1st for Working Abroad
- 1st for Personal Finance
- 2nd for Ease of Settling In
- 2nd for Expat Essentials
- 6th for Quality of Life
Even the lowest of those results is inside the global top ten. That consistency separates Panama from countries that perform exceptionally in one area but make everyday life difficult in another.
Personal finances are Panama's clearest strength
Panama ranks first in the Personal Finance Index:
- 90% say their disposable household income is enough for a comfortable life, compared with 71% globally.
- 76% are satisfied with their financial situation, compared with 55% globally.
- 69% rate the general cost of living positively, compared with 39% globally.
Panama ranks first for both financial satisfaction and comfortable disposable income, and second for cost of living.
While this doesn't necessarily mean every part of Panama is inexpensive, it does show that income and expenses produce an unusually comfortable balance.
Housing and visas make the move easier
Panama's second-place finish in the Expat Essentials Index starts with housing. The country ranks first in the Housing Subcategory: 90% of respondents say finding a home is easy, and not one rates it negatively. Nearly three-quarters, 73%, consider housing affordable, versus 32% worldwide.
The visa experience also receives exceptional marks. Some 82% say obtaining a visa is easy, putting Panama second among the countries surveyed. This reflects a genuine variety of routes for retirees, investors, professionals, and other applicants, although the right option, documentation, cost, and processing time depend on each person's circumstances. A positive survey result is not a substitute for current advice from a qualified immigration lawyer.
Digital life is another quiet advantage. High-speed internet receives a positive rating from 94% of respondents, while 93% are happy with unrestricted access to online services. That supports the day-to-day reality of remote workers and internationally connected households, not just the image of Panama as a retirement destination.
The administrative picture is less seamless. Online government services receive only an average result, and Panama ranks 22nd for the ease of opening a local bank account. Finding a home and navigating the visa process may feel straightforward, but due diligence, documentation, and patience are still part of establishing a financial life here.
Feeling welcome is part of the appeal
Panama places second in the Ease of Settling In Index, behind only Mexico.
Nine in ten respondents describe Panamanians as generally friendly, far above the 63% global average. Nearly three-quarters are happy with their social life, 72% say they have a personal support network, and 77% find it easy to get used to the local culture.
There is an important nuance behind those warm results: 40% say their friends are mostly other expats. Panama's established international communities can provide an immediate network, especially in Panama City, Boquete, Coronado, Pedasí, and Bocas del Toro. But a ready-made expat circle is not the same as integration. Learning Spanish and participating in local life remain the best ways to build relationships beyond that circle.
A surprising first place for working abroad
Panama also leads the Working Abroad Index for the second year in a row.
The standout is work-life balance: 90% rate theirs positively, compared with 62% worldwide. Panama also ranks third for both the local job market and personal career opportunities, while 74% view the state of the economy favorably.
Yet this result needs context. Work is not the main reason most respondents came to Panama. Only 16% moved for a job-related reason, compared with 33% globally. More than a third of respondents, 37%, are retired, and 41% of those who work do so part time, almost twice the worldwide share.
So first place does not mean Panama automatically offers the highest salaries or an easy local job search in every profession. It means the respondents who are working report an excellent balance of time, satisfaction, and opportunity. Remote professionals, business owners, investors, and people with flexible arrangements may be especially well placed to benefit from that combination.
Quality of life is high, but not flawless
Panama ranks sixth for Quality of Life, making it the only Latin American country in the index's top ten. Leisure Options and Safety & Security both place sixth, and every respondent rates the country's natural environment positively.
That will feel intuitive to anyone who has spent time here. A compact country offers a cosmopolitan capital, mountain climates, Pacific beaches, Caribbean islands, rainforests, and two coastlines, often within a few hours of one another.
The weaker scores are just as recognizable. Panama ranks last, 31st, for infrastructure for cars. That pulls Travel & Transit down to 17th. The urban environment ranks 26th, and the availability of green goods and services ranks 28th. Traffic, road quality, drainage, walkability, waste management, and uneven infrastructure remain real quality-of-life considerations, depending heavily on where you choose to live.
These shortcomings are not footnotes to hide. They are part of the decision. Yet they have not outweighed the positives for most respondents: 34% say they want to stay in Panama forever, compared with 27% globally.
Retirees remain central, but they are not the whole story
Panama is still a retirement magnet. In the 2026 sample, 37% of respondents are retired, compared with 14% globally, while 18% say retirement was their main reason for moving.
The country's climate, established residency routes, dollar-based economy, private healthcare, and range of locations make that unsurprising. But the wider results show why the Panama story is no longer only about retirement. The country scores at or near the top for careers, internet access, housing, finances, social life, and adapting to the local culture. That mix also speaks to remote workers, entrepreneurs, families, and internationally mobile professionals.
What prospective residents should take from the result
The most meaningful part of Panama's third consecutive win is not the number one beside its name. It is the breadth and durability of the result.
Survey respondents are not saying Panama is perfect. They report frustrating roads, uneven urban infrastructure, limited digital administration, and banking friction. Nor will the headline averages tell you whether Panama City, Boquete, Pedasí, Coronado, or Bocas del Toro fits your budget, climate preferences, and daily routine.
What they are saying, consistently, is that Panama makes the difficult combination of moving abroad work: finances feel manageable, housing is accessible, people are welcoming, work leaves room for life, and the country offers enough variety to build very different kinds of futures.
Three straight years at number one do not make the decision for you. They make Panama worth examining seriously — with a realistic budget, a clear residency plan, time spent in the regions that interest you, and an honest understanding of the trade-offs.
Sources
The ranking history, 2026 results, and survey percentages in this article come from InterNations' Expat Insider reporting:
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