Best Countries to Retire

Japan ranks #1 with a composite score of 78.6.

Top 5 Ranked

Japan

78.6

United States

77.6

Canada

77.2

4 Chile

5 South Korea

Japan

78.6

United States

77.6

Canada

77.2

4 Chile 75.9

5 South Korea 75.5

Overview

The best countries for retirement combine affordable living with strong healthcare systems. Several Southeast Asian and Latin American countries rank highly due to low costs and improving healthcare. European countries with public healthcare systems also perform well despite higher costs, thanks to exceptional life expectancy and infrastructure scores.

Global Rankings

Rank	Country	Score	Cost Index (index)	Life Expectancy (years)	Health Spending (% GDP)	Internet Access (%)	Water Access (%)
1	Japan	78.6	56.2	84.8	10.9%	83.0%	99.1%
2	United States	77.6	100.0	80.6	18.8%	92.0%	99.9%
3	Canada	77.2	80.6	83.8	12.9%	93.0%	99.2%
4	Chile	75.9	45.6	79.8	9.8%	90.0%	100.0%
5	South Korea	75.5	63.2	83.0	8.4%	98.0%	99.9%
6	Spain	74.9	74.4	82.6	10.7%	94.0%	99.9%
7	New Zealand	74.7	73.1	82.5	10.0%	96.0%	100.0%
8	Germany	74.5	81.6	81.5	12.8%	91.0%	100.0%
9	Australia	74.3	82.8	83.1	10.7%	96.0%	100.0%
10	Sweden	74.1	77.8	82.7	11.4%	88.0%	99.8%
11	France	74.0	81.2	82.6	12.2%	86.0%	100.0%
12	United Kingdom	73.7	88.9	81.9	12.0%	97.0%	100.0%
13	Norway	73.4	91.7	82.6	11.4%	99.0%	100.0%
14	Malta	73.2	80.7	83.2	10.8%	87.0%	100.0%
15	Slovenia	72.7	69.0	81.8	9.5%	89.0%	99.5%
16	Austria	72.7	89.0	82.3	11.5%	93.0%	100.0%
17	Finland	72.1	77.0	81.8	9.6%	93.0%	100.0%
18	Belgium	72.1	85.3	81.9	11.1%	91.0%	100.0%
19	Portugal	72.0	71.7	81.5	10.6%	82.0%	99.9%
20	Brazil	71.9	39.3	75.9	10.3%	81.0%	99.4%
21	Paraguay	71.4	34.6	78.4	7.6%	77.0%	100.0%
22	Bosnia and Herzegovina	71.2	46.4	78.0	9.8%	76.0%	99.9%
23	Montenegro	71.1	61.3	77.8	11.4%	82.0%	99.4%
24	Greece	71.1	65.5	81.5	9.5%	78.0%	100.0%
25	Lebanon	70.9	51.9	78.8	8.0%	87.0%	100.0%
26	Kuwait	70.7	56.9	79.1	6.3%	100.0%	100.0%
27	Denmark	70.5	96.7	81.7	10.5%	99.0%	100.0%
28	Georgia	70.4	44.4	77.5	7.6%	91.2%	97.3%
29	Armenia	70.4	57.3	76.1	12.2%	77.0%	100.0%
30	Czech Republic	70.3	67.3	79.7	9.2%	86.8%	99.9%
31	Netherlands	70.1	98.1	82.2	11.1%	92.0%	100.0%
32	Italy	69.7	76.0	82.6	9.6%	75.0%	99.9%
33	Estonia	69.2	62.9	77.9	7.8%	96.1%	99.6%
34	Macedonia	69.1	45.6	76.8	7.9%	83.0%	99.4%
35	Jordan	68.6	40.5	76.0	7.5%	83.0%	99.1%
36	Ukraine	68.5	40.7	73.5	7.6%	94.5%	99.6%
37	Hungary	68.5	54.2	77.2	7.3%	89.3%	100.0%
38	Slovakia	68.4	60.2	78.3	7.2%	90.0%	100.0%
39	Ecuador	68.4	42.3	77.5	8.5%	76.0%	95.4%
40	Uruguay	68.3	74.0	78.4	9.2%	90.0%	100.0%
41	Oman	68.2	47.5	76.9	5.3%	96.0%	99.7%
42	Cyprus	68.0	76.5	79.7	8.1%	91.0%	99.8%
43	Algeria	67.5	38.2	78.0	6.3%	71.0%	99.4%
44	Israel	67.4	98.8	83.4	8.3%	90.0%	100.0%
45	Saudi Arabia	67.3	57.7	76.7	5.7%	100.0%	100.0%
46	Costa Rica	67.2	70.8	79.6	7.9%	83.0%	100.0%
47	Colombia	67.2	39.2	74.9	9.0%	73.0%	97.7%
48	Belarus	67.1	35.8	74.3	6.4%	85.0%	99.9%
49	Poland	66.7	62.0	78.8	6.5%	85.0%	100.0%
50	Tunisia	66.6	43.8	76.8	6.3%	79.0%	99.2%
51	Bahrain	66.6	68.8	79.9	4.2%	100.0%	100.0%
52	Albania	66.4	57.1	79.5	6.7%	79.0%	97.0%
53	Latvia	66.2	60.3	75.9	7.5%	89.8%	99.5%
54	Lithuania	66.0	65.7	75.8	7.5%	97.8%	98.0%
55	Bulgaria	65.9	50.6	75.6	8.5%	75.0%	99.0%
56	Romania	65.5	50.7	75.8	6.3%	84.0%	100.0%
57	Serbia	65.5	53.7	74.2	8.7%	81.0%	99.5%
58	Thailand	65.3	50.3	77.7	4.4%	85.0%	100.0%
59	Malaysia	65.2	48.7	76.1	4.1%	97.0%	97.5%
60	Panama	64.9	62.1	77.6	9.7%	68.0%	96.2%
61	United Arab Emirates	64.9	84.0	79.6	5.5%	100.0%	100.0%
62	Croatia	64.8	68.2	77.2	7.8%	81.0%	100.0%
63	Ireland	64.6	97.2	81.7	7.1%	95.0%	97.4%
64	Switzerland	64.3	142.3	83.2	11.8%	96.0%	100.0%
65	Qatar	63.8	82.0	79.8	4.2%	100.0%	99.6%
66	Trinidad and Tobago	63.6	62.9	75.9	7.3%	79.0%	100.0%
67	Russia	63.6	50.8	72.4	7.6%	88.0%	97.6%
68	Azerbaijan	63.4	37.8	74.2	4.6%	85.0%	97.1%
69	China	63.3	39.4	76.1	5.6%	73.0%	95.1%
70	Iceland	62.7	142.6	83.6	9.6%	100.0%	100.0%
71	Egypt	62.5	34.9	74.5	4.4%	72.0%	99.7%
72	Mauritius	62.4	48.4	74.9	6.7%	68.0%	99.9%
73	Iran	62.2	52.5	75.3	5.3%	79.0%	99.4%
74	Vietnam	62.0	41.7	75.5	4.7%	74.0%	96.9%
75	Morocco	61.9	44.2	73.7	6.0%	88.0%	91.0%
76	Brunei	61.8	72.4	78.4	2.4%	98.0%	99.9%
77	Jamaica	61.7	63.5	75.8	6.6%	82.0%	96.4%
78	Sri Lanka	61.2	38.4	77.5	4.1%	67.0%	92.8%
79	Kazakhstan	61.1	38.2	72.5	3.8%	86.0%	97.4%
80	Turkey	61.1	60.0	76.2	4.6%	81.0%	99.0%
81	Luxembourg	61.0	123.0	83.0	5.8%	99.0%	99.9%
82	Dominican Republic	60.4	47.7	72.6	4.9%	85.0%	97.2%
83	Uzbekistan	60.2	41.3	75.3	6.8%	50.1%	97.8%
84	Mexico	59.6	54.4	72.3	6.2%	76.0%	99.7%
85	Moldova	58.5	51.0	72.4	6.8%	76.3%	92.1%
86	Iraq	58.2	31.7	73.2	5.1%	49.0%	99.3%
87	Venezuela	58.1	44.9	73.3	3.8%	78.7%	94.2%
88	Nicaragua	57.3	45.9	74.8	8.6%	57.0%	83.2%
89	Nepal	56.8	29.1	72.4	5.2%	52.0%	94.1%
90	Peru	56.3	39.2	68.9	6.3%	71.0%	94.0%
91	South Africa	55.7	44.0	65.3	8.6%	72.0%	96.7%
92	Indonesia	55.4	37.0	73.1	3.4%	62.0%	93.3%
93	Bangladesh	55.2	28.7	74.7	2.6%	39.0%	98.9%
94	Kyrgyzstan	54.8	41.7	72.4	5.3%	55.0%	93.6%
95	Ghana	54.1	32.5	69.4	4.0%	68.0%	92.4%
96	Guatemala	53.8	56.3	72.9	6.5%	51.0%	95.0%
97	Philippines	53.5	39.9	70.1	5.1%	53.0%	97.0%
98	Singapore	52.8	177.3	86.4	6.1%	91.0%	100.0%
99	Cambodia	51.5	53.7	70.7	7.5%	60.0%	85.1%
100	India	49.8	21.2	67.2	3.0%	46.0%	95.5%
101	Pakistan	46.2	24.0	69.7	2.8%	21.0%	94.0%
102	Kenya	40.1	32.0	69.7	4.3%	29.0%	71.2%
103	Nigeria	37.0	45.3	61.3	3.4%	55.0%	82.6%
104	Cameroon	35.5	49.6	63.3	3.8%	46.0%	78.6%

How We Score Countries for Retirement

Affordability is the top concern for retirees, so cost of living receives the highest weight at 30%. Life expectancy (25%) reflects healthcare quality and overall livability. Healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP (20%) indicates a country's investment in its health system. Internet access (15%) matters for staying connected with family, and drinking water access (10%) ensures basic infrastructure quality.

Metric Weights

Cost Index 30%

Life Expectancy 25%

Health Spending 20%

Internet Access 15%

Water Access 10%

Source: CIA World Factbook, World Bank. Rankings are based on the most recent data available. Countries must have data for all metrics to be included.

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Best Countries to Retire

Top 5 Ranked

Japan

United States

Canada

Japan

United States

Canada

Overview

Global Rankings

How We Score Countries for Retirement

Metric Weights

Continue Reading

Best Countries for Digital Nomads

Best Countries for Families

Best Countries for Healthcare

Cheapest Countries to Live In