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Expatriates consider Portugal the 5th best country to live and work in 2021

Expatriates consider Portugal the 5th best country to live and work in 2021
Idealista · 21 May 2021

In a list of 59 countries from all over the world, Portugal was classified as one of the destinations with the best quality of life and work, occupying the fifth position in the table. And it is even considered "the home of some of the happiest expatriates in the world", reveals the Expat Insider 2021 survey developed by InterNations, which included the participation of 12,420 expatriates.

In this study, about 84% of respondents say they are "happy with their life in general" in Portugal. And there are several factors that explain this satisfaction: these foreign citizens who chose to live outside their country "enjoy a high quality of life. in the country, ranking Portugal in third place in this index ”. Highlights include local leisure options, sunny weather, and security, which expatriates highly value. Speaking to InterNations, a British expatriate confirms that Portugal "is a safe and quiet place" and adds that "it is very beautiful, with good food, music, culture, and landscapes." Then there are other subcategories in which Portugal is rated better than the average, such as the accessibility of healthcare in Portugal (73% of respondents say they are satisfied), opportunities to travel (which satisfies 86%), and easy access to telecommunication services (93% say they agree).

In summary, Portugal was among the top ten in three indexes of the five analyzed: quality of life (3rd), ease of settling in (9th), and cost of living (9th). Although it also had good results in the Personal Finance Index (14th).

As for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, InterNations reveals that it "affected the relocation plans of about two out of five expatriates in Portugal (37%), which is exactly the same proportion as the global average." Only 1 % of expatriates intend to return home sooner and "more than a quarter have decided to stay in Portugal and not return home in the near future".


Portugal is the only European country in the ‘top 10’

Looking at the classification of the other countries in the table, it is clear that Portugal is the only European destination to have a place in the ‘top 10’ of the general classification. It is necessary to go down to the fifteenth position to know the second country in Europe that is best ranked by those who decided to live outside their country - Czech Republic. Spain followed, in sixteenth place.