After achieving 6th place in 2019, Lisbon has risen to 3rd place this year in the ranking of the best cities in the world for expats to live and work, according to the Expat City Ranking 2020.
Of the 66 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2020, Lisbon comes third. It is worth noting that 82% expats feel at home in the Portuguese capital (compared with 64% worldwide). 79% are satisfied with their social life (compared with 59% worldwide), which also places the city in 3rd place globally for this indicator.
Lisbon has been named a sunny, safe and social destination for expats. Lisbon also performs well in terms of the quality of urban life: the Portuguese capital ranks 5th in
the «Leisure and Climate» subcategory. 89% of expats are satisfied with the local leisure options (compared with 71% worldwide). Furthermore, 96% expatriates are satisfied with the weather and climate in Lisbon (compared with 64% globally), whilst 56% are very satisfied (compared with 26% globally).
Almost all immigrants in Lisbon (99%) rated their personal safety (compared with 82% for satisfaction worldwide).
At the same time, whilst Lisbon continues to rank a high 6th in the cost-of-living index, 64% of expatriates are satisfied with this aspect (compared with 46% worldwide).
Where the Portuguese capital falls short is in the housing sector, where it ranks only 27th. Almost three in eight expats (37%) find it difficult to find accommodation in Lisbon (compared with 27% globally).
Finally, the city shows mixed results on the Work Life Index (23rd place): expatriates report that, on the whole, they are very satisfied with their jobs (79% happy compared with 65% worldwide) and strike a good balance between their personal and professional lives (83% happy compared with 64% worldwide). However, they are dissatisfied with local career opportunities (37% dissatisfied compared with 34% globally) and the state of the local economy (19% dissatisfied compared with 18% globally).
The 2020 Expat City Ranking features the Spanish cities of Valencia and Alicante, followed by Lisbon, followed by Panama City, Singapore, Málaga, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid and Abu Dhabi, which round out the top 10.
You can view the full 2020 expat city ranking here
