Top 10 best passports for quality of life
Global Citizen Solutions, an immigration investment company based in the UK and Portugal, has released its first-ever ‘Quality of Life Index’. They assessed several criteria using a quantitative scoring system to determine the overall standard of living that a nation can offer, focusing on the aspects that make a country ‘desirable’ for expats, international retirees, and digital nomads.
The top 10 best passports for Quality of Life are:
Sweden
Finland
Denmark
Canada
Germany
Netherlands
New Zealand
UK
Spain
Austria
Sweden: One of the happiest countries in the world
With many beautiful landscapes, a corporate culture that has fully embraced a good work-life balance, and a country that leads in global development, Sweden has claimed the top spot in Global Citizen Solutions´ pioneering Quality of Life Index. Global Citizen Solutions data analysts looked at each nation’s areas deemed the most important to assess a country’s living desirability.
Here are the six main indicators considered for the Quality of Life Index:
Sustainable Development Goals (weighted at 30%)
Cost of living (weighted at 20%)
Level of freedom (weighted at 20%)
Level of happiness (weighted at 10%)
Environmental performance (weighted at 10%)
Migrant acceptance (weighted at 10%)
Sweden scored 87.2 in the Quality of Life Index, ranking highly in sustainable development, level of freedom, environmental performance, happiness and migrant acceptance. The nation only ranked unfavorably in the cost of living category, which is considered high. However, Sweden has relatively high salaries for its population, which increases the cost of living.
“In Sweden, as with other Scandinavian countries, there is a great weight given to social equality and an emphasis on the importance placed on life outside the office and on a healthy work-life balance. From kindergarten, there are 16 months of paid family leave that can be split between the couple after a new child is born, with free daycare also available,” comments Patricia Casaburi, Managing Director at Global Citizen Solutions.
While most passport rankings focus solely on the number of countries that one can visit visa-free with a certain passport, Global Citizen Solutions believes that a passport’s true value has so much more to offer. As a result, their team of analysts created a pioneering Global Passport Index, which includes an all-encompassing ranking system that considers a passport’s attractiveness level for international mobility, investment opportunities, and quality of living.
Sweden’s Passport rankings
Enhance Mobility Index – 15th
Investment Index – 31st
Quality of Life Index – 1st
Overall Global Passport Index – 6th (USA 1st, Germany 2nd, Canada 3rd, Netherlands 4th, Denmark 5th)
Coincidence! It was probably in today’s paper but someone was claiming that the Finns had been rated happiest country in the world 4 years running.
But it all depends on which table you read. There are a lot of them about.
Yes, there are a lot of them… but I have to say the Scandinavians regularly seem to be there or thereabouts!
Bhutan doesn’t get a listing which is a pity. As far back as 1972 the King of Bhutan announced that the country would pursue Gross National Happiness, not increases in Gross National Product. I think he got the ball rolling.
He sounds a very wise man! 😊
Fascinating that there are 3 Scandinavian countries at the top of the list. Let’s be honest, it ain’t the climate that puts them there. Cold and dark for the worst of winter, then kept awake by the midnight sun in summer.
I know it goes against many people’s political views but is it their supportive welfare systems that stops people having to worry about poverty and problems?
If you’ve ever been to the Scandinavian countries you will have suffered from the high cost of living. It’s high taxes that fund their happiness. Those big state taxes wouldn’t suit every country.
Beautiful landscapes probably help in the happiness stakes. Waking up ever day to clean air, wonderful views and a relaxed pace of life has got to count for something…
Possibly too Eurocentric? 8 out the top 10 are European countries.
Fair point… but maybe there’s a reason behind it.
Only two of my personal top choice to live made it. New Zealand and Sweden. I’ve always heard about the quality of living in Sweden, and seems like they just proved it yet again during this pandemic. Wonder how some of my top Asian countries ranked against this list?
I was just looking at a similar list produced by Numbeo. You had to go to #16 in the list to get to the first Asian country (Japan). That was followed (not too closely by) #30 (Singapore) and #37 (Taiwan). Those three and South Korea (#46) were the only ones to make it into the top 50.