If you’ve ever daydreamed of breaking your lease, moving your stuff into storage and traveling, we can really relate. That’s why we created the Remote Work Rankings, which can help you decide where your next personal office will be, based on your needs.
Before planning your journey, be sure to check the latest travel restrictions in your destination. Our travel restrictions map provides real-time updates on COVID-19 restrictions and entry requirements of individual countries around the world.Learn more
Using 22 different factors, we compared 111 countries according to their remote working conditions and opportunities to really explore outside of your usual 9 - 5 routine. We then ranked these destinations based on six categories, such as how lively the social scene is or local costs of living, to help you weigh your options. Using the guide below, find out which countries would best meet your work and life needs so that you can make this daydream a reality.
Click on a category to expand it and see individual factors. Click on a factor's arrow to sort the ranking based on that factor.
The factors presented are in the original data values but the total score and category scores are presented on a 1-100 scale, with 100 being the best (or cheapest), based on the normalization calculations. For more info please see the full Methodology.
Final score: 100
Portugal was ranked the all-around best country to work from remotely. How did it claim the title for #1? Because of its mix of accessibility for remote workers, its safety, and climate. Some of the primary reasons include that Portugal offers a digital nomad visa and many locals have a high English proficiency (if you don’t happen to speak Portuguese). It’s also fairly politically stable with an absence of violence and it has great weather with minimal air pollution. Work From Portugal to enjoy incredible seafood, meat and wine while overlooking the scenic Atlantic coast.
Find flightFinal score: 93
Spain claimed the title for the second-best country to work from because of its accessibility when it comes to 9 - 5 nomads. Spain is great for remote work because it has high-speed internet, a variety of co-working spaces and remote visas for employees that have gone digital. It's also incredibly safe with few serious car accidents and is very LGBT friendly. Work From Spain if you want to see all of the Spanish history, art, food and drink that this eclectic country has to offer.
Find flightFinal score: 92
Romania came in as the third best place to work remotely in the world because it’s quaint and affordable for all types of travelers. Our #3 offers very attractive prices with cheap car rentals and hotel prices, plus affordable long-term apartment stays. Romania also has many spots equipped with high-speed internet and many locals who speak English. Work From Romania if you’re a history buff who loves a good castle tour and wants to experience traditional village life away from the rest of civilization.
Find flightData in six categories has been collected in order to rank countries in terms of their attractiveness for remote work: Travel, Local prices, Health & safety, Remote work, Social life and Weather.
Within these categories, a total of 22 factors have been defined to reach a comprehensive overview of aspects that travelers may encounter and care about when deciding on the destination for remote work.
A total of 111 countries have been included in this analysis. These are the most searched destinations on our site as well as countries / territories that have announced their enhanced visa policies for remote workers.
All sources have been accessed and data retrieved between 1 September – 20 October 2021. The numbers collected are based on the latest available data. See the full list of data sources.
The same procedure has been applied separately for scores within individual categories to determine category scores (e.g. a Travel score is based on a calculation of four travel factors).
The Travel category comprises four factors:
Defined by the weekly number of flight routes to/from the destination country.
Source: KAYAK internal data
Avg. hotel price per night in USD for standard double room across all hotel types. Prices based on the search period Jan-Sept 2021 for travel period: Jan-Dec 2022.
Source: KAYAK internal data
Avg. prices for a car hire per day in USD and across all vehicle classes. Prices based on the search period Jan-Sept 2021 for travel period: Jan-Dec 2022.
Source: KAYAK internal data
Euro-super 95, avg. price (USD) for 1 gallon from the period 11 - 17 Oct 2021.
Source: GlobalPetrolPrices.com (Data from Oct 11- Oct 17 2021)
The Local prices category comprises four factors:
Apartment (1 bedroom) in Outside of City Centre (USD), price per month.
Source: Numbeo (Sourced 20 Sept 2021)
Avg. apartment price per night in USD. Prices based on the search period Jan-Sept 2021 for travel period: Jan-Dec 2022.
Source: KAYAK internal data
Avg. one-way ticket price for public transport (USD) derived from prices in available cities.
Source: Numbeo (Sourced 12 Oct 2021)
Avg. recommended budget per month (USD).
Source: Numbeo (Sourced 12 Oct 2021)
Avg. price (USD) for a meal for 2 people (three courses) in a mid-range restaurant.
Source: Numbeo (Sourced 12 Oct 2021)
The Health & safety category comprises four factors:
Political Stability and Absence of Violence / Terrorism (Percentile rank).
Source: WGI (Sourced 7 Oct 2021)
Exposure to PM2.5, micrograms per cubic metre (2019 data).
Source: OECD
Legal rights, scale 1-100 (worst-best).
Source: Equaldex (Sourced 7 Oct 2021)
Estimated road traffic death rate (per 100 000 population).
Source: WHO
The Remote work category comprises four factors:
Avg. download speed in mbps on a country level. Results based on tests from 11.04.2021 to 11.10.2021.
Source: Broadband Speed Checker
Avg. upload speed in mbps on a country level. Results based on tests from 11.04.2021 to 11.10.2021.
Source: Broadband Speed Checker
Information on the remote work visas is based on the information sourced from the official websites of the reviewed countries’ authorities. Source: Local & Governmental sites (Sourced: October, 2021)
Source: Local & Governmental sites
Estimated number of co-working spaces in a country (per capita).
Source: Coworker (Sourced 4 Oct 2021)
The Weather category comprises two factors:
Avg. monthly precipitation (in inches) throughout the year, based on major cities.
Source: Weatherbase
Avg. monthly temperature (Fahrenheit) throughout the year, based on major cities.
Source: Weatherbase
The Social life category comprises three factors:
English Proficiency Index score
The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) score is based on test data from more than 2,200,000 test takers around the world who took the EF Standard English Test (EF SET) or one of EF English placement tests in 2019. Read more about the EF EPI here. For countries where an EF EPI score is not available but where the English language is an official language, the highest EF EPI score of 652 was applied.
Source: EF EPI (Accessed on 29/09/2021)
Going out
Avg. number of bars and clubs in five major cities (per capita).
Sources: Open Street Map
Culture
Avg. number of theatres, museums and galleries in five major cities (per capita).
Sources: Open Street Map