Switzerland regains popularity among expats, but ranks below average

Switzerland has regained some of its popularity in the latest Expat Insiders Survey published by InterNations. Following a drastic fall in ranking from 23rd best destination for expats in 2023 to 34th in 2024, Switzerland comes out 29th in 2025. 

Expat Insider Survey for 2025

The latest Expat Insiders Survey results have been released by the expat networking site InterNations. This year’s survey saw over 10.000 respondents share their experiences of living and working in 46 countries. Respondents represented 172 nationalities.

The results see countries ranked as “the best and worst countries for expats in 2025”, and provide insights into five topics: 

• Quality of Life (travel, environment and climate, leisure, healthcare, safety and security)
• Ease of Settling In (local friendliness, finding friends, culture and welcome) 
• Working Abroad (career prospects, salary and job security, work culture and satisfaction)
• Personal Finance 
• Expat Essentials (digital life, admin topics, housing and language)

Panama held its place for the second year as the number one country for expats, followed by Colombia in second and Mexico in third. All three countries rank highly in the Ease of Settling In Index, sharing praise for being friendly and welcoming. China and Malaysia were the two new countries to make the top ten this year.

Kuwait remained at the bottom of the ranking, coming in at 46th. South Korea and Türkiye joined them at the lower end of the survey, with respondents answering less favourably in the Work Culture and Satisfaction category.

Switzerland regains popularity, but still below average among expats

The results are in for Switzerland, and no, this isn’t another round of Eurovision. Switzerland has regained some of its popularity among expats compared to 2024, ranking 29th out of 46 countries in 2025. Despite the jump in ranking, it still leaves Switzerland sitting below average.

Switzerland continues to be ranked highly for its quality of life, moving up to 11th place out of 46. Respondents praise the country for its travel, transit, safety, and security. Salary and job security, along with the environment and climate, also did well among internationals. 

Perhaps to no surprise, Switzerland is often known for its public transport, high salaries, low taxes, and beautiful mountains and lakes. SBB trains were found to be more punctual than ever in 2024.

Can’t find friends or housing: the main problems in Switzerland

Switzerland’s worst category remains the ease of expats settling into the country. According to respondents' impressions, Switzerland is a difficult country to integrate into due to the lack of local friendliness, finding friends, culture, and a welcoming environment.

Added to this, Switzerland placed 42nd out of 46 when it came to expats' experience of looking for housing. A hot topic among expats, housing continues to pose problems across the country with high rent prices and competition, creating a housing shortage and sky-high prices. A survey published earlier this year found that expats pay an average of 10,5 percent more in rent than Swiss citizens. Cities like Zurich and Geneva are often ranked as the most overpriced in the world when it comes to rental costs.

The best and worst countries in the world for expats in 2025

According to the Expat Insiders Survey, the top five countries for expats in 2025 are:

1. Panama
2. Colombia
3. Mexico
4. Thailand
5. Vietnam

The bottom five countries for expats in 2025 are:

42. Germany
43. Finland
44. South Korea
45. Türkiye
46. Kuwait