Brazil Ranks 5th Best Country for Foreigners to Live In
Brazil · EXPAT LIFE
Key Facts
—Rank: Brazil placed 5th of 31 destinations in Expat Insider 2026.
—Previous year: Brazil ranked 15th in the 2025 edition.
—Working Abroad: Brazil ranked 24th, in the bottom 10.
—Job satisfaction: Brazil ranked 9th in this subcategory.
—Salary and job security: Brazil ranked 26th in this subcategory.
—Top country: Panama topped the overall ranking for 2026.
Brazil broke into the top five of the InterNations Expat Insider 2026 survey. Expats praised the people and culture, but working abroad ranks far lower.
Brazil is the fifth-best country for expats in the InterNations Expat Insider 2026 survey. The community group published its results in late July, and BBC Travel brought them to wider attention in mid-August.
What the survey measures
InterNations, a global expat community with more than 5.5 million members, runs the annual Expat Insider survey. The 2026 edition is the 13th annual survey and covers 31 destination countries.
For 2026, results are presented as an overall ranking plus five indices: Working Abroad, Personal Finance, Quality of Life, Expat Essentials, and Ease of Settling In. The survey drew 7,786 respondents of 162 nationalities, according to InterNations.
This is a self-selected member survey, not a statistical sample of all expats. Each destination needed at least 50 respondents to be included, which is why some countries are absent.
Forbes reported that the survey ran from 1 February to 31 March 2026.
The 2026 fieldwork ran 1 February to 31 March, with results published in late July, according to news coverage. InterNations itself does not state the survey dates or the number of respondents in its public summary.
The full top 10 for 2026
The Expat Insider 2026 top 10 destinations are Panama, Mexico, Thailand, UAE, Brazil, Spain, Singapore, Portugal, Malaysia, and Luxembourg.
Panama took first place, according to InterNations. Forbes and Euronews coverage notes Panama has topped the ranking for the third year in a row.
InterNations does not publish the numerical overall scores for each country. The public materials show rank order only.
InterNations does not publish the numeric scores behind its rankings, so the list is purely ordinal. That means the gap between positions is not visible in any public material.
Why expats love Brazil
BBC Travel reported that Brazil scored highly for happiness, ease of settling in, local friendliness, and culture. Many expats said the warmth of the people makes them feel at home.
This is Brazil’s first time in the top five, after ranking 15th in the 2025 edition. The improvement reflects strong personal and social experiences, according to the survey responses.
InterNations’ Brazil country profile notes the country’s top-five finish and highlights its natural beauty. The profile also says expats praise the friendly locals and vibrant culture.
BBC Travel reported that Brazil scored highly for happiness, ease of settling in, local friendliness, and culture. The country profile also notes Brazil’s 5th place overall.
The working abroad picture
Despite the overall top-five finish, Brazil ranked 24th on the Working Abroad 2026 index. InterNations explicitly places Brazil in the bottom 10 for employment-related outcomes.
Brazil ranked 9th for overall job satisfaction and 9th for the local job market, according to InterNations. However, it ranked 26th for salary and job security, which dragged its working-abroad score down.
InterNations noted that happy employees alone do not make a top destination for work. The weak salary and security results offset the strong job satisfaction numbers.
InterNations explicitly states Brazil’s 24th place keeps it in the bottom 10. The 9th place for job satisfaction and local job market is offset by 26th for salary and job security.
Brazil versus Latin America
Three Latin American countries appear in the top 10. Panama is first, Mexico is second, and Brazil is fifth.
Other Latin American countries are not listed among the 31 ranked destinations, meaning they did not meet the minimum sample threshold. This makes Brazil the third-highest-ranked Latin American destination in the survey.
All three ranked Latin American countries feature in the top five overall. Their strong scores on quality of life and ease of settling in helped lift them.
Brazil ranks third among Latin American countries in the survey, behind Panama and Mexico. Other Latin American destinations do not appear in the 31-country list.
Comparing with other rankings
BBC Travel and BBC News Brasil both report on the same InterNations ranking. Their coverage adds interpretation but does not change the underlying data.
The Working Abroad sub-index is the one point where Brazil’s performance diverges sharply. Its 24th place there contrasts with its 5th place overall.
Forbes and Euronews also reproduce the InterNations top 10. No separate ranking with different results is presented in these articles.
Forbes and Euronews replicate the same top-10 order from InterNations. No media outlet publishes a separate ranking that disagrees with the survey’s results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who produces the Expat Insider survey?
InterNations, a global expat community with more than 5.5 million members, produces the annual Expat Insider survey. The 2026 edition is the 13th annual survey, and it gathered responses from 7,786 expats.
When was the 2026 survey conducted?
Forbes reported that the survey ran from 1 February to 31 March 2026. InterNations published results starting on 22 July 2026, according to page date tags.
Why is Brazil ranked 5th overall but 24th for working abroad?
Brazil ranked 9th for job satisfaction and 9th for the local job market. However, it ranked 26th for salary and job security, which pulled its working-abroad index down to 24th.
Is this a statistical sample of expats?
No. The survey is a self-selected member survey of InterNations members. It is not a representative sample, so its findings should be weighed with that limitation in mind.
Sources
- www.internations.org
- www.internations.org
- www.internations.org
- www.bbc.com
- www.bbc.com
- www.forbes.com
- www.internations.org
- www.internations.org
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