Expat Insider 2026 – Berlin

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

• In Brief
• A Cold Reception
• The Analog Capital
• Nightlife of the Gods
• Short Weeks, Thin Wallets
• Who Moves to Berlin?

In Brief

Berlin closes the Expat City Ranking 2026 in 33rd place out of 33 cities — the culmination of a long slide that saw it rank 46th out of 53 in 2024, the last time a city ranking was published based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. The failures accumulate across indices: Expat Essentials comes in 31st, Ease of Settling In 28th, Personal Finance 26th, Quality of Life 24th, and Working Abroad 23rd. The verdict is written in the mood: only 58% of expats are happy with their life in Berlin (vs. 70% globally), and just 9% are completely happy (vs. 25%) — putting Berlin in last place for happiness, too.

A Cold Reception

The Ease of Settling In Index (28th) sketches the emotional deficit. Less than a third of expats (32%) rate the general friendliness of the local residents positively (vs. 63% globally), and just 39% find Berliners friendly towards foreign residents (vs. 61%). Consequently, less than half feel welcome (49% vs. 64% globally) or at home (47% vs. 61%), and only 42% find it easy to get used to the local culture (vs. 60%).

The loneliness compounds it: just 43% are happy with their social life (vs. 54%), and less than half (48%) have a personal support network in the city (vs. 58% globally). Asked about their friends and acquaintances, not even one in ten expats in Berlin (6%) share they’re mostly local residents (vs. 17%). Indeed, over half (54%) say making local friends is difficult (vs. 40%).

The Analog Capital

Berlin holds the ranking’s last place for Digital Life (33rd), a distinction that startles for one of Europe’s leading startup hubs: only 54% of expats find cashless payments easy (vs. 86% globally) and only 57% agree it’s easy to get high-speed internet at home (vs. 81%). What’s more, a mere 37% rate the availability of administrative services online positively (vs. 61%), while 44% rate it negatively.

The offline state performs no better, with Berlin placing in the bottom 3 for Admin Topics as well (31st). Two-thirds (67%) find the bureaucracy difficult to deal with (vs. 39% globally), a concern 27% had already carried into the move (vs. 14%).

Housing (28th) is a major pain point as well — 68% say it’s hard for expats to find accommodation (vs. 35% globally), with over a quarter (27%) giving this factor the worst possible rating (vs. 11%). The affordability of housing is even worse: 71% regard it negatively, compared to an already high global average of 49%.
The language wall closes the circle: 56% had feared the language barrier already before their move (vs. 32% globally), and 59% indeed find German difficult to learn (vs. 40%). The need for it is at least not quite as dire as in other German cities in the ranking: Berlin places 19th for how easy it is to live there without speaking the local language, compared to bottom 10 results for Hamburg (25th), Frankfurt (27th), and Munich (28th).

Nightlife of the Gods

What Berlin still does better than almost anyone is the after-hours. In the Leisure Options Subcategory (13th), a remarkable 92% of expats rate the culture & nightlife positively (vs. 67% globally) — among the best results in the ranking — and 84% praise the culinary variety & dining options (vs. 75%). Public transport works, too, with 83% positive ratings for availability (vs. 72% globally) and 74% for affordability (vs. 70%).

Unfortunately, the rest of the Quality of Life Index (24th) fails to impress: just 24% rate the climate & weather positively (vs. 58% globally), personal safety convinces only around seven in ten (71% vs. 81%), and Healthcare (28th) disappoints. In fact, only 49% agree it’s easy to get equal access to all kinds of healthcare services (vs. 63% globally).

Short Weeks, Thin Wallets

The work-life balance in Berlin offers some consolation (Work & Leisure 15th): full-time employees put in just 38.7 hours per week — among the shortest in the ranking and compared to 42.2 hours globally. Consequently, around two-thirds are satisfied with their working hours (68% vs. 63%) and work-life balance (67% vs. 62%). Fully remote work thrives at 30% (vs. 20% globally).

The rest of the Working Abroad Index (23rd) is less of a delight: only 30% rate the local job market positively (vs. 38% globally), and over a quarter (27%) do not feel fairly paid (vs. 21%).

The Personal Finance Index (26th) highlights the growing mismatch between income and costs. Slightly more than one-third (34%) say their disposable household income isn’t enough for a comfortable life (vs. 29% globally), and just 42% are satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 55%). Berlin is no longer cheap enough to excuse its salaries.

Who Moves to Berlin?

Berlin still attracts the young and the searching: 18% of expats originally moved there to study (vs. 4% globally), 11% came for a better quality of life (vs. 9%), and 10% for an adventure (vs. 4%) — while only 22% moved for job-related reasons (vs. 33%). The average age is 43.8 (vs. 49.8 globally), the gender split is even, and the mix is broad: US Americans (12%) lead, ahead of Brits (6%), Turks, Nigerians, and Indians (5% each).

The commitment is fraying: only 17% plan to stay forever (vs. 27% globally), 46% don’t know when they’ll leave (vs. 38%), and 24% expect to go within the next five years or sooner (vs. 21%). Berlin closes the ranking as a paradox — the city expats find easiest to love at 02:00 in the morning, and hardest to live in the rest of the day.