A recent study has revealed the friendliest countries for expats, and some of the unfriendliest too.
As reported by The South African, expat guide InterNations asked expats in 53 countries to rate the friendliness factor of their new home.
According to Daily Mail, the expats were asked about a number of things, including their social life and whether they felt at home in their new country.
They were also asked about the friendliness of the local population, as well as how easy it was to become accustomed to the culture.
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As per the 2024 ranking, Costa Rica occupied the number one spot on the list of friendliest countries.

Costa Rica. (Picture: Unsplash/Lisa van Vliet)
It was followed by Mexico in second place, with The Philippines taking the third spot.
‘Expats feel very welcome (88% vs. 63% globally) and at home (83% vs. 58%) in Costa Rica. They also say it’s easy to get used to the local culture: over a third (35%) agree completely with this point, compared to 21% worldwide,’ the survey revealed.

Costa Rica (Picture: Sourced/iStock)
It further highlighted that expats rate the local population as the friendliest worldwide. Nine in ten expats rated the general friendliness of locals favourably.
Occupying the 53rd spot at the very bottom of the list as the least friendly country for expats was Kuwait.
Norway occupied the 52nd position and Germany the 51st.
South Africa featured towards the middle of the list as it came in at number 23.
Here is the list of the world’s Top 10 friendliest countries for expats:
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
- The Philippines
- Indonesia
- Brazil
- Thailand
- Panama
- Colombia
- Kenya
- Greece
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