Where to Go (or Avoid) for a Lively Social Circle

• Methodology
• Mexico’s (1st) Legendary Easy-Going Culture
• Making Friends Is Easy in Panama (2nd)
• You’ll Find a Support Network in Colombia (3rd)
• No Warm Welcome in Kuwait (46th)
• Norway’s (45th) Locals Need Time to Open Up
• Difficulties Integrating in Finland (44th)
• Trends in the Top 10
• Trends in the Bottom 10
• The Biggest Winners for Ease of Settling In
• The Biggest Loser for Ease of Settling In
• Full Ranking
• Further Reading

The Top 10

Methodology

The Ease of Settling In Index is composed of three subcategories with two to three factors each.

The Finding Friends Subcategory considers whether expats are happy with their social life; if they have a personal support network in their new home abroad; and what they say about making local friends.

Culture & Welcome summarizes whether expats feel welcome and at home, as well as how easy it is to get used to the local culture of their host country.

And the Local Friendliness Subcategory factors in the friendliness of the local population — both in general and towards foreign residents.

In 2025, a total of 46 destinations met the minimum sample size of 50 respondents and thus ranked in the index.

Mexico’s (1st) Legendary Easy-Going Culture

Mexico has topped the Ease of Settling In Index since 2014 — only dropping to 2nd place a couple of times. In 2025, the Culture & Welcome Subcategory (1st) takes the lead, followed by Finding Friends (2nd) and Local Friendliness (3rd).

At more than 20 percentage points higher than the global average, expats feel both at home (79% vs. 58% globally) and welcome (88% vs. 62%) in Mexico. They’re also happy with their social life (74% vs. 52%) and find that making local friends is easy (70% agree vs. 38%).

This is reflected in the make-up of friends and acquaintances. More than a third of respondents in Mexico (35%) describe them as mostly locals, more than double the global average of 16%. Interestingly, only 19% are friends with mostly other expats, in contrast to 38% of expats worldwide.

Making Friends Is Easy in Panama (2nd)

In 1st place in the overall ranking, it’s no surprise that Panama also excels in the Ease of Settling In Index (2nd). The Finding Friends Subcategory comes in 1st place, and more than four in five expats (82%) are happy with their social life in Panama (vs. 52% globally).

In contrast to Mexico, only 6% of respondents in Panama describe their friends and acquaintances as mostly locals (vs. 16% globally). Instead, more than half (55%) have a diverse circle of both expats and locals (vs. 46%).

Overall, expats find it easy to make local friends (75% agree vs. 38% globally), and nearly nine in ten (88%) say the locals are friendly towards foreign residents (vs. 60%).

You’ll Find a Support Network in Colombia (3rd)

Rounding up the top 3 in the index is Colombia in 3rd place. The star factor is having a personal support network in the country, which expats in Colombia rank in 1st place — nearly four in five expats (79%) agree they have people around them to ask for practical/emotional support, compared to 55% globally.

Colombian locals are also seen as friendly, in general (85% agree vs. 62% globally) and towards foreigners (87% vs. 60%). And respondents appear well-integrated, too: 51% describe their friends and acquaintances as mostly locals (vs. 16% globally), while only 8% run in mostly expat circles (vs. 38%).

No Warm Welcome in Kuwait (46th)

Since the beginning of the survey in 2014, Kuwait has placed dead last — except once in 2017 — in the Ease of Settling In Index. In 2025, all three subcategories of the index are again in the bottom 10, with Culture & Welcome (46th) and Local Friendliness (46th) dead last.

Around double the global average of expats say they feel neither at home (44% vs. 23% globally) nor welcome (37% vs. 18%) in Kuwait. Yet respondents are split regarding whether the local culture is easy to get used to: 34% say it’s easy (vs. 58% globally), the other 34% say it’s difficult (vs. 22%). Either way, it’s not good news in comparison to the global average.

Norway’s (45th) Locals Need Time to Open Up

Another familiar face in the index is Norway, which graces the bottom 10 for the sixth year in a row. The most challenging aspect for expats is getting used to Norwegian culture — 46% say it’s difficult, more than double the global average of 22%.

Only 17% of respondents find it easy to make local friends (vs. 38% globally), which could be tied to the perceived unfriendliness of the locals. More than two in five expats in Norway (41%) find the locals generally unfriendly (vs. 19% globally).

Difficulties Integrating in Finland (44th)

In 44th place for the Ease of Settling In is another Nordic country: Finland. It dropped to the bottom 10 in 2024 and hasn’t recovered. Expats don’t quite feel welcome (44th) or at home (43rd). They’re also unhappy with their social life (48% are dissatisfied vs. 29% globally), and more than two-thirds (68%) say making local friends is difficult (vs. 42% globally).

When it comes to their friends and acquaintances, 49% of respondents in Finland describe them as a mixed group of locals and expats (vs. 46% globally), and 42% as mostly other expats (vs. 38%). So, not all hope is lost in making a couple of Finnish friends!

Trends in the Top 10

1. Mexico
2. Panama
3. Colombia
4. Indonesia
5. Philippines
6. Brazil
7. Oman
8. Kenya
9. Thailand
10. Cyprus

There are eight familiar faces in the top 10 of the Ease of Settling In Index from 2024. Oman (7th) and Cyprus (10th) are new additions, improving by 5 and 7 ranks, respectively. For both countries, expats highly rate the Culture & Welcome (Oman 10th, Cyprus 9th). Though locals may not be as friendly in Cyprus (16th) as they are in Oman (7th).

Brazil (6th) joins the three Latin American countries filling the top 3. These four destinations receive top 10 results for all three subcategories and their individual factors — except for expats’ happiness with their social life in Brazil, which sees 14th place.

Asia is represented by Indonesia (4th), the Philippines (5th), and Thailand (9th). What unites all three is a high-ranking Local Friendliness Subcategory (1st, 4th, and 8th, respectively).

Kenya (8th) is the only African country to make the list. Expats find the locals to be friendly in general (8th) and towards foreigners (8th). Finding Friends (5th) is also a pleasant experience.

Trends in the Bottom 10

37. Czechia
38. South Korea
39. Switzerland
40. Denmark
41. Austria
42. Sweden
43. Germany
44. Finland
45. Norway
46. Kuwait

In contrast to the top 10, the bottom 10 is heavily populated by European countries — with even four of the five Nordic countries making an appearance. Joining Norway (45th) and Finland (44th) are Sweden (42nd) and Denmark (40th).

The only saving grace is Denmark’s Local Friendliness (35th), which is the only subcategory to make it out of the bottom 10.

More south geographically, there’s Germany (43rd), Austria (41st), Switzerland (39th), and Czechia (37th). For Germany and Switzerland, nearly every single factor of the index is in the bottom 10. Austria and Czechia, meanwhile, perform a little better for Finding Friends and Culture & Welcome. Having a support network in Czechia (15th) in particular is a silver lining.

South Korea (38th) is the only new addition to the bottom 10. With Kuwait (46th), they represent the odd ones out. Nevertheless, they follow the trend of all three of the index’s subcategories in the bottom 10.

The Biggest Winners for Ease of Settling In

For the Ease of Settling In Index, Hungary is the biggest winner having jumped 14 spots to land in 30th place, after seeing the bottom 10 in 2024. The biggest improvement is in the Culture & Welcome Subcategory (from 48th to 25th). The share of respondents who say they feel at home in Hungary increased nearly 20 percentage points from 47% in 2024 (vs. 58% globally) to 65% (vs. 58%).

People are not as unhappy with their social life: 21% of expats in Hungary give this factor a negative rating, down 17 percentage points from 2024 (vs. 29% globally both years).

Showing a 12-rank improvement are Malta (20th in 2025) and Canada (27th). In both countries, expats have seen an improvement in having a personal support network (from the bottom 10 to 26th and 35th place, respectively).

The Biggest Losers for Ease of Settling In

The biggest losses in rank in the Ease of Settling In Index aren’t as dramatic as the gains. Greece (14th) fell four ranks, while Thailand (9th) and Singapore (33rd) fell three ranks each.

Nevertheless, 4 ranks were enough to push Greece out of the top 10. The biggest change is in the Finding Friends Subcategory (from 9th to 16th). It seems that people are less likely to agree they have a personal support network — the share of disagreeing respondents is up to 28% (vs. 27% globally), compared to just 14% in 2024 (vs. 27%).

For Thailand, the Culture & Welcome Subcategory and its three factors all dropped out of the top 10, yet none rank lower than 16th, which is still pretty decent. In Singapore, the biggest change was also in the personal support network (from 29th to 38th). Similar to Greece, the share of respondents who don’t agree they have such a network increased from 25% in 2024 to 37% in 2025 (vs. 27% globally).

Full Ranking

Further Reading

• The Best & Worst Countries for Expats in 2025
• In Mexico, Expats Enjoy the Slower Pace of Living
• Expats in Panama Are Happiest with Their Life Abroad
• Want Value for Money & a Fulfilling Social Life? Try Colombia
• Amid a Turbulent Political Climate, South Korea Slips to the Bottom
• A Cold Climate & Introverted People in Finland
• Expat Insider 2024: Discover the Top Cities to Feel at Home Abroad