Revealed: World’s 25 Best Countries To Live And Work In 2021

Sophie Ireland, PhDDecember 7, 2020

International expats named Switzerland as the best country in the world to live and work with aspects like happiness, healthcare, peace, average monthly salary, cost of living, and property price to income ratio all taken into account. The annual Expat named Switzerland as the best country for international workers – perhaps that’s not surprising.

Rank	Country	Happiness Index	Healthcare Index	Peace Index	Average Monthly Salary	Cost of Living	Property Price to Income Ratio
1	Switzerland	7.48	72.44	1.375	6406.34	122.4	8.68
2	Denmark	7.6	80	1.316	3802.86	83	7.45
3	Iceland	7.494	65.92	1.072	3042.26	100.48	6.74
4	Norway	7.554	74.36	1.536	3411.3	101/43	8.77
5	Australia	7.228	73.54	1.419	3633.04	73.54	7.52
6	Finland	7.769	75.79	1.488	2976.09	70.38	8.35
7	New Zealand	7.307	73.81	1.221	2795.05	72.53	8.52
8	Netherlands	7.488	74.65	1.53	3049.89	73.75	7.51
9	Austria	7.246	78.73	1.291	2497.39	70.38	10.88
10	Canada	7.278	71.58	1.327	2514.87	67.62	7.97
11	Singapore	6.262	70.84	1.347	3705.24	81.1	22.31
12	Sweden	7.343	69.23	1.533	2954.21	69.83	9.27
13	Japan	5.886	81.14	1.369	2757.57	83.35	13
14	Belgium	6.923	74.34	1.533	2490.07	71.78	6.91
15	Germany	6.985	73.32	1.547	2887.81	65.26	9.38
16	Ireland	7.021	51.89	1.39	2860.36	75.91	7.49
17	Qatar	6.374	73.3	1.696	3425.29	64.04	5.82
18	United Kingdom	7.054	74.46	1.801	2560.15	67.28	10.09
19	France	6.592	79.99	1.892	2522.66	74.14	13.04
20	United States of America	6.892	69.27	2.401	3681.09	71.05	3.52
21	South Korea	5.895	81.97	1.867	2423.42	78.18	17.31
22	United Arab Emirates	6.825	67.04	1.847	2712.41	61.98	5.29
23	Israel	7.139	73.29	2.735	2542.23	81.15	12.83
24	Taiwan	6.446	86.71	1.725	1477.86	61.37	23.69
25	Spain	6.354	78.88	1.699	1651.47	53.77	9.37

Each of these factors brings with it a critical way of understanding the quality of life in the cities and each of the metrics was normalized in order to properly quantify them into a single overall score.

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Sophie Ireland, PhD

Sophie Ireland, PhD in Media Entrepreneurship & Strategy, is the Senior Economist and Finance Editor at CEOWORLD Magazine, where she brings over 15 years of editorial and consulting experience across finance, media strategy, and executive communications. Sophie began her career as a financial journalist, reporting on Wall Street during the global financial crisis, before transitioning into corporate branding for Fortune 500 firms.

Her dual background in journalism and PR gives her a rare edge—she not only understands what moves the markets, but also how companies manage messaging and reputation during pivotal business moments. At CEOWORLD, Sophie curates high-level editorial content that blends financial literacy with strategic storytelling. She focuses on leadership visibility, earnings communication, investor relations, and market forecasting.

Sophie holds a degree in Financial Journalism and a professional certification in Corporate Communications. She is a sought-after panelist on executive reputation and is active in mentoring women in finance and media. Through her work at CEOWORLD, she aims to equip leaders with the insights they need to communicate powerfully, lead decisively, and maintain resilience in rapidly evolving market landscapes.

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