Vietnam has been named the number one country for expats, with regards to personal finance, by InterNation’s Expat Insider survey for 2025. The 12th edition of the study surveyed more than 10,000 expats representing 172 nationalities worldwide, resulting in an overall ranking of 46 destinations.
Overall the survey found that personal finances are playing an even greater role in expats’ overall satisfaction with their lives abroad, with countries ranking well in this specific area tending to be found more frequently at the top of its global ranking.
Below we’ve looked at some of the key findings of the study related to personal finances, as well as explaining how comparing money transfer providers can help you protect your money.
Vietnam ranks highly for cost of living
For the Personal Finance index of the Expat Insider survey, expats ranked countries across three different factors on a scale of one to 10. These factors included how satisfied they were with their financial situation, the general cost of living and whether their disposable household income was enough to lead a comfortable life.
Vietnam has now placed first in the survey’s Personal Finance Index for five years in a row. It saw 89% of expats saying they were pleased with the general cost of living, with 87% saying their disposable household income is enough to lead a comfortable life.
By comparison, across all the countries the study found that 40% of expats were pleased with the cost of living, with 69% happy with their disposable household income amount, which goes to show how well Vietnam is succeeding here. Not only this but the country was ranked fourth out of the 46 destinations in the study for satisfaction with their financial situation.
Asian and Latin American countries lead for personal finance
In the top 10 for Personal Finance, the list of countries is led by Asian participants, with China coming fourth, Thailand fifth, Indonesia sixth, the Philippines seventh and Malaysia ninth. Latin American countries are also strongly represented, with Colombia, Panama, Mexico and Brazil all in the top 10 for this index.
A common trend across these countries, the study’s operators said, was the fact that all three of the Personal Finance factors ranked in the top 10, excluding Brazil, which still came in at above average (coming 16th for cost of living and 13th for satisfaction with financial situation).
By comparison, Europe saw four countries come in the bottom 10 for Personal Finance, including Finland, the UK, Ireland, Norway and Turkey. Others in the bottom 10 included Singapore; new entrants Qatar, Australia and South Korea (the latter dropping 25 places compared to 2024 to 40th in 2025); and Canada in last place.
Where are the best countries to live abroad?
Personal finance was just one factor driving InterNation’s overall list of the Best & Worst Countries for Expats in 2025, which also tracked areas such as overall quality of life; the ease of settling into countries and working abroad.
The top 10 countries in the Expat Insider’s study were as follows:
- Panama
- Colombia
- Mexico
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- China
- UAE
- Indonesia
- Spain
- Malaysia
Overall, countries in Latin America dominated the top 10 results for the Best & Worst Countries for Expats in 2025, with Panama, Colombia and Mexico taking the top three spots respectively, followed by Thailand, Vietnam and China.
For the second year in a row, Panama came top of the survey’s lists of the Best & Worst Countries for Expats in 2025, with 94% of expats happy with their life there. Over a third of respondents from Panama were already retired, with the country coming in third place overall for expats who claimed they were satisfied with their finances.
The second country on the list, Colombia, also came second overall in the Personal Finance index, with a low cost of living and 8 out of 10 people being satisfied with their financial situation there, though it was also driven by a better quality of life and job satisfaction.
The message is clear: personal finances play a big role in how happy expats end up being when they move to other countries. That’s why it's so important to take steps to save money – and one important consideration is how you send money abroad.
Factoring in the cost of sending money abroad
Where you live as an expat can significantly shape how comfortable you are financially – however, no matter where you are, one way you can avoid unnecessary costs is by comparing money transfer providers when sending money abroad.
Whether you are sending money to friends and family abroad or returning funds from the country you have moved to, the costs of sending money overseas can stack up over time – particularly if you are sending through high street banks.
By comparing money transfer providers, you can find the least costly and fastest choice for your transfer, saving you time as well as protecting your personal finances. Compare money transfer providers in seconds using our free tool.
