The Best (& Worst) Places for Your Finances in 2025

• Methodology
• Vietnam (1st) Retains Its Crown, Again
• Costs Not an Issue in Colombia (2nd)
• Panama (3rd) Is a Favorite for Retirees
• A Tough Financial Situation in Canada (46th)
• Insufficient Incomes in United Kingdom (45th)
• Expats Need More for a Comfortable Life in Finland (44th)
• Trends in the Top 10
• Trends in the Bottom 10
• The Biggest Winners for Personal Finance
• The Biggest Losers for Personal Finance
• Further Reading
• External Resources

Full Ranking

Methodology

For the Personal Finance Index, expats rated three different factors on a scale of one (very bad) to seven (very good): general cost of living; satisfaction with their financial situation; and whether a respondent’s disposable household income is enough to lead a comfortable life.

To be featured in the ranking, a country must have a minimum of 50 respondents. In 2025, 46 destinations made this threshold.

Vietnam (1st) Retains Its Crown, Again

Vietnam is the undisputed champion of the Personal Finance Index, coming in 1st place for the fifth year in a row. Almost nine in ten expats there (89%) are pleased with the general cost of living and say their disposable household income is about or more than enough (87%) to lead a comfortable life (vs. a global 40% and 69%, respectively).

Satisfaction with their financial situation in Vietnam (4th out of 46 destinations) may play a role in keeping expats in the country: 54% have lived there for 5 or more years already, and 30% want to stay forever.

Costs Not an Issue in Colombia (2nd)

Colombia takes not only 2nd place in the Personal Finance Index but is also 2nd overall in the ranking. The South American country maintains its 2nd rank in the index from last year, with expats ranking their satisfaction with their financial situation in 1st place.

A significant 92% of expats there say their disposable income is about or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 69% globally). And not one expat cited high cost of living as a big concern prior to their move (vs. 21%). Interestingly, 25% of respondents are retired (vs. 11%), and 69% make 50,000 USD or less in gross yearly income (vs. 52%). Clearly, the low cost of living is a major draw!

Panama (3rd) Is a Favorite for Retirees

In 3rd place in the index is Panama — the overall winner of the Expat Insider survey now for the second year in a row. More than a third of expats there (35% each) are retired (vs. 11% globally) and plan to stay forever (vs. 24%).

No surprises there, as 87% of respondents find their disposable income to be about or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 69% globally). And in terms of satisfaction with their financial situation, 78% are happy (vs. 54%).

A Tough Financial Situation in Canada (46th)

In last place for Personal Finance is a country that’s no stranger to the index’s bottom 10: Canada. More than half of expats there are unhappy with the general cost of living (62% vs. 40% globally) and find that their disposable household income isn’t enough (52% vs. 31%). In both cases, that’s 20 percentage points higher than the global average.

And nearly a third of respondents (30%) cited Canada’s high cost of living as one of their major concerns prior to their move (vs. 21% globally). Once there, 40% aren’t satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 26%).

Insufficient Incomes in United Kingdom (45th)

Another familiar face in the bottom 10 of the index is the United Kingdom (45th). In a similar fashion to Canada, 61% of expats in the UK are unhappy with the cost of living (vs. 40% globally) and 51% find that their disposable household income isn’t enough (vs. 31%) — again showing a 20-percentage-point difference in dissatisfaction compared to the global average.

In terms of the biggest concerns prior to their move, nearly two in five expats (39%) cited the high cost of living (vs. 21% globally). Close to two-thirds (65%) report a gross yearly income of up to 50,000 USD (vs. 52% globally), which appears insufficient for a satisfying financial situation; indeed, this factor ranks 43rd out of 46.

Expats Need More for a Comfortable Life in Finland (44th)

In 2024, Finland slipped from an average 30th place into the bottom 3. In 2025, it once again lands in the bottom, ranking 44th. More than a third of respondents there (35%) are making less than 12,000 USD in gross yearly income (vs. 17% globally), which doesn’t seem to be enough to lead a comfortable life — 43% say as much (vs. 31%).

Adding expats’ general dissatisfaction with the cost of living (53%, vs. 40% globally), it’s no surprise that nearly half (48%) aren’t satisfied with their financial situation in Finland (vs. 26%).

Trends in the Top 10

1. Vietnam
2. Colombia
3. Panama
4. China
5. Thailand
6. Indonesia
7. Philippines
8. Mexico
9. Malaysia
10. Brazil

Compared to 2024, nine of the countries in the top 10 retain this title. Only Malaysia (9th) is a new addition, edging its way in from 11th place last year.

Interestingly, no European country makes the list, which is overwhelmingly occupied by Asian countries. In addition to Vietnam (1st), there’s China (4th), Thailand (5th), Indonesia (6th), the Philippines (7th), and Malaysia (9th). What’s noticeable is all three factors of the index are ranked in the top 10 for these countries — except for Malaysia, whose general cost of living (4th) is the only factor in the top 10.

The list is rounded up by four Latin American countries: Colombia (2nd), Panama (3rd), Mexico (8th), and Brazil (10th). A similar trend to the Asian countries can be seen: all factors of the index rank in the top 10 for these countries. Only Brazil is the odd one out with worse, but still above average, results for costs (16th) and expats’ satisfaction with their financial situation (13th).

Trends in the Bottom 10

37. Norway
38. Australia
39. Ireland
40. South Korea
41. Singapore
42. Qatar
43. Türkiye
44. Finland
45. United Kingdom
46. Canada

There are three new additions to the bottom 10 for 2025: Qatar (42nd) and Australia (38th) simply slid into the bottom, whereas South Korea (40th) saw a hard drop of 25 places from 2024.

Qatar ranks dead last for disposable household incomes being enough to lead a comfortable life (46th), whereas expats in Australia and South Korea are more displeased with the cost of living (38th) and their financial situation (45th), respectively.

The four European countries at the bottom are continuing their tradition from 2024. In addition to Finland (44th) and the UK (45th), there’s Ireland (39th) and Norway (37th) — with Türkiye (43rd) joining in from the continent. A common thread for these countries is expats ranking the cost of living in the bottom 10.

As for Singapore (41st), it resumes its spot in the bottom 10 for the third year in a row. As in the previous two years, expats there rank the cost of living dead last (46th).

The Biggest Winners for Personal Finance

Compared to 2024, the biggest winner in the Personal Finance Index is Cyprus, which managed a 22-rank jump from 38th place to 16th. It seems that expats there are much more satisfied with their financial situation. In 2024, 30% were unhappy with this factor (vs. 26% globally). One year later, this share is down to 18% (vs. 26%).

This could be related to more disposable income; in just one year, the percentage of expats in Cyprus who find their household income to be about or more than enough increased from 61% (vs. 70% globally) to 74% (vs. 69%).

Malta (21st) and Kuwait (29th) managed to move up 15 ranks each. Similar to Cyprus, the share of expats in Malta who are happy with their disposable household income increased. Nearly half (47%) find it to be more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 40% globally). Last year, only 34% said the same (vs. 41%).

There’s also good news for Kuwait, which left the bottom 10 of the index to rank 29th. This is in part due to expats’ increased satisfaction with their financial situation: following a spot in the bottom 10 in 2024 (48th), Kuwait now ranks 29th for this factor.

The Biggest Losers for Personal Finance

South Korea dropped a whopping 25 places in the ranking to 40th place — a bottom 10 result. In one year, the percentage of respondents satisfied with their financial situation nearly halved, dropping from 70% (vs. 54% globally) to just 38% (vs. 54%). It appears expats’ perception of the general cost of living has noticeably worsened (from 20th to 33rd), despite South Korea’s comparatively steady, moderate inflation rate of around 2%.¹

South Africa’s fall in the ranking isn’t as dramatic, but the country still lost 13 places to rank 31st. Two of the index’s factors have dropped to the bottom 10: whether disposable household income is enough to lead a comfortable life (from 19th to 39th) and expats’ satisfaction with their financial situation (from 31st to 39th).

Indeed, the former factor has shown a major change in the percentage that find their income is about or more than enough to lead a comfortable life — in 2024, 73% of respondents said as much (vs. 70% globally); in 2025, only 58% say the same (vs. 69%).

Further Reading

• The Best & Worst Countries for Expats in 2025
• Want Value for Money & a Fulfilling Social Life? Try Colombia
• Expats in Panama Are Happiest with Their Life Abroad
• A Cold Climate & Introverted People in Finland
• Expat Insider 2024: The Best (& Worst) Countries for Your Wallet

External References

1. FocusEconomics. Korea Inflation Rate: Estimate & Outlook. Accessed 8 Aug 2025.