{"id":68698,"date":"2026-08-10T15:57:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T15:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/68698\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T15:57:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T15:57:29","slug":"spain-tops-where-expats-enjoy-the-best-quality-of-life-in-2026-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/68698\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain tops \u201cwhere expats enjoy the best quality of life in 2026\u201d survey"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the firth year in a row, Spain<\/a> tops the InterNations\u2019 2026 Quality of Life<\/a> Index, ranking 1st out of 31 countries in 2026. It\u2019s no coincidence that expats move there for lifestyle reasons: one in five (20%) relocated for a better quality of life (vs. 9% globally), and 8% moved to retire abroad (vs. 4%). Once settled, they don\u2019t seem to regret it \u2014 41% want to stay forever (vs. 27% globally).<\/p>\n

Leisure Options (2nd) are a major strength. Expats rate the culture and nightlife (2nd) and their opportunities for recreational sports (2nd) among the best worldwide, and 87% praise the culinary variety and dining options (vs. 75% globally). The famous climate and weather (2nd) delights 89% of respondents (vs. 58% globally), helping Spain to a 5th place in the Environment & Climate Subcategory.<\/p>\n

Healthcare<\/a> (4th) adds to the appeal: about four in five expats are happy with its affordability (80% vs. 61% globally), availability (83% vs. 71%), and quality (83% vs. 71%). Travel & Transit (7th) rounds out the picture with affordable public transport (6th) and plenty of opportunity to travel (93% positive ratings vs. 84% globally). It\u2019s also easy and safe to get around on foot or by bike, according to 87% of respondents (vs. 78%).<\/p>\n

Safety & Security (11th) is Spain\u2019s weakest subcategory \u2014 though hardly a bad result. While 77% feel free to openly express themselves and their opinions (vs. 64% globally), the political stability (18th) only receives average ratings.<\/p>\n

The Quality of Life Index consists of five subcategories with three to six underlying factors each. The Travel & Transit Subcategory looks into the opportunity to travel; the affordability and availability of public transport; the infrastructure for cars; and whether it\u2019s easy and safe to get around on foot or by bicycle.<\/p>\n

For Safety & Security, respondents shared their opinions on their personal safety; the political stability; and whether they feel they can openly express themselves and their opinions in their new home.<\/p>\n

The Leisure Options Subcategory is made up of ratings regarding the culture & nightlife offering; the culinary variety & dining options; and the local opportunities for recreational sports.<\/p>\n

The affordability, availability, and quality of medical care as well as how easy it is to get equal access to all kinds of healthcare services make up the Healthcare Subcategory.<\/p>\n

Lastly, the Environment & Climate Subcategory sums up expats\u2019 satisfaction with the host country\u2019s natural environment; urban environment; air quality; and climate and weather. It also considers how expats rate the availability of green goods and services (e.g., renewable energy, organic food) and whether the government supports policies to protect the environment.<\/p>\n

Expats rated these factors on a scale of one (very bad \/ disagree completely) to seven (very good \/ agree completely). A minimum of 50 respondents is required for a location to be featured in the index. In 2026, 31 countries met this threshold. www.internations.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the firth year in a row, Spain tops the InterNations\u2019 2026 Quality of Life Index, ranking 1st…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1254,1255,21968,13185,605,3177,599,600,27029,27030,1258,17,314,27028],"class_list":["post-68698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-balearics","tag-british-expats","tag-foreign-residents","tag-healthcare","tag-latest-headlines","tag-living-in-spain","tag-majorca","tag-mallorca","tag-quality-of-life","tag-retiring-to-mallorca","tag-second-homes","tag-spain","tag-sport","tag-wellbeing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}