Germany Ranks Among the Worst Countries for Expats

Waiting months for a residence permit appointment. Filling out government forms that only exist on paper. Getting turned away at a café because the card reader is broken and you don't have cash. Or living in a city for years while your circle of friends stays made up almost entirely of other foreigners, because breaking into local social circles never quite happens. If any of that sounds familiar, you're not alone, according to newly released international rankings for 2026, Germany placed 30th out of 31 countries for expats, ahead of only Norway, dragged down almost entirely by problems like these.

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Germany placed 30th overall out of 31 countries evaluated, part of a European cluster dominating the bottom of the table, eight of the ten lowest-ranked destinations this year are European. The bottom ten, in order: Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Czechia, Sweden, Canada, the UK, Türkiye, Germany, and Norway in last place.

Here's what dragged Germany down:

• Digital life: Germany's worst-performing area, ranking dead last worldwide on three separate measures, cashless payment options, high-speed internet access at home, and online government services. It's the worst country in the entire ranking for cashless payments: nearly four times the global average of expats disagree that it's widely available (22% vs. 6%).

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• Bureaucracy and housing: over three in five expats (61%) find it difficult to deal with German authorities, versus 39% globally. Fewer than one in five rate housing affordability or availability positively.

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• Personal Finance: ranked 23rd. Over seven in ten expats (71%) feel their disposable household income is enough for a comfortable life, in line with the global average, though only 51% are satisfied with their financial situation overall, versus 55% globally.

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• Quality of Life: ranked 20th, described as steady rather than stellar. Germany ranks 14th for Travel & Transit, helped by strong satisfaction with the road network (84% positive vs. 73% globally), and 15th for Environment & Climate, with good availability of green goods and services (6th). Leisure Options (24th) and Healthcare (23rd) are weaker spots, and the country ranks only 20th for both political stability and personal safety.

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• Ease of Settling In: ranked 28th overall, and 28th specifically for Local Friendliness. Only 42% of expats find locals friendly toward foreign residents, versus 61% globally, and fewer than half (46%) feel at home in Germany, versus 61% globally. Germany ranks 30th for getting used to the local culture, and about two in five expats (41%) say their friends are mostly other expats. Just 57% find it hard to make local friends, versus 40% globally, and overall, Germany ranks 29th for satisfaction with social life.

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• Language: Germany ranks 26th for how easy expats find German to learn. The language barrier was the top pre-move worry, named by well over half of respondents (55%), and 49% say it's difficult to get by without speaking German, versus 34% globally.

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• Working Abroad: the one relative bright spot, ranking 19th, Germany's best index. It's carried mainly by good work-life balance and shorter working hours than average, even though the local economy and job market only rate as average.

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• Overall happiness: despite that one silver lining, only 60% of expats say they're happy with life in Germany, against a global average of 70% — 10 percentage points below average.

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A Familiar Pattern

This isn't a one-off. Germany has ranked near the bottom of the Expat Insider survey for years, with the same complaints resurfacing each time: paper-based bureaucracy that requires in-person visits rather than online forms, a digital public sector that lags behind comparable economies, a housing market that's difficult to break into, and a language and social barrier that leaves many newcomers feeling like permanent outsiders rather than settled residents.

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The Bigger Picture

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Panama topped the ranking for the third year running, with an 87% expat satisfaction rate and a third of its expats wanting to stay forever. The full top ten for 2026: Panama, Mexico, Thailand, the UAE, Brazil, Spain, Singapore, Portugal, Malaysia, and Luxembourg. Thailand had the happiest expats overall, with 86% saying they were happy there. Mexico ranked first specifically for Ease of Settling In, thanks to how easy expats found it to make friends and feel welcome.

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Norway's expats reported the lowest overall satisfaction in the survey, driven mainly by difficulty settling in and making friends. Germany's problem is different: practical, administrative friction, compounded by, not caused by, social and language barriers.

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The Takeaway

For anyone considering a move to Germany, the message is less "don't go" than "go in prepared." The jobs, salaries and social benefits are still there. What isn't guaranteed is a smooth landing, expect paperwork, expect delays, and expect that making local friends takes real effort. Until public administration catches up with the rest of the economy, Germany looks set to stay near the bottom of the table.

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About the Survey

InterNations, the world's largest expat community, released its Expat Insider 2026 report in Munich on 23 July 2026. The study drew on responses from close to 8,000 expats representing 162 nationalities, who rated their experience living abroad in 31 countries across five core indices:

• Quality of Life – travel, environment, leisure options, healthcare and safety
• Ease of Settling In – local friendliness, making friends, and cultural fit
• Working Abroad – career prospects, salaries, job security and work culture
• Personal Finance – cost of living and financial confidence
• Expat Essentials – visas, bureaucracy, housing, digital services and language

For a country to be included at all, at least 50 of its resident expats had to complete the survey. The fieldwork ran from 1 February to 31 March 2026.

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