Country rankings

Best Countries to Retire

Sweden ranks 1st on US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking in 2026, followed by Iceland (2nd) and Norway (3rd); rank 1 is the best. Angola ranks last (100th).

Economics105 countries · 9 metricsUpdated Sep 1, 2026Original page
3 sources
99 of 235 countries
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US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking, 2026

Green is better, red is worse (rank 1 is the best). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 99 countries; rank 1 is the best.

Over time · 2024–2026

The top 5 in 2026; rank 1 at the top.

  • Sweden
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Seychelles
  • Finland

Biggest changes · 2025 → 2026

86 countries have a value in both years; rank 1 is the best.

Climbed

Fell

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

103 countries · # = rank by US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking
#
1Sweden1st—
2Iceland2nd—
3Norway3rd—
4Seychelles4th—
5Finland5th—
6Switzerland6th—
7Germany7th—
8Canada8th—
9Malta9th75.0
10Czechia10th—
11Luxembourg11th—
12Denmark12th—
13Ireland13th74.9
14Estonia14th—
15Israel15th—
16Singapore16th—
17Netherlands17th—
18Russia18th—
19Austria19th—
20Portugal20th87.4
21New Zealand21st—
22United Kingdom22nd—
23Australia23rd—
24Slovenia24th—
25Belgium25th—
26France26th84.4
27Spain27th83.7
28Poland28th—
29Italy29th85.3
30Hungary30th—
31Cyprus31st—
32Lithuania32nd—
33Slovakia33rd—
34Croatia34th71.1
35Romania35th—
36Uruguay36th74.9
37Japan37th—
38Greece38th90.1
39South Korea39th—
40United States40th—
41Serbia41st—
42Bulgaria42nd—
43Kazakhstan43rd—
44Belarus44th—
45Costa Rica45th87.6
46Latvia46th—
47Chile47th—
48Brazil48th—
49Argentina49th—
50Saudi Arabia50th—
51Georgia51st—
52Colombia52nd73.3
53Turkey53rd—
54Qatar54th—
55Panama55th89.3
56China56th—
57Bosnia and Herzegovina57th—
58Kuwait58th—
59Ukraine59th—
60Oman60th—
61Iran61st—
62United Arab Emirates62nd—
63Albania63rd—
64Malaysia64th79.3
65Thailand65th80.0
66Mexico66th87.3
67Dominican Republic67th69.1
68Paraguay68th—
69Bahrain69th—
70Ecuador70th78.7
71Mongolia71st—
72Uzbekistan72nd—
73Vietnam73rd72.0
74Algeria74th—
75El Salvador75th—
76Armenia76th—
77Lebanon77th—
78Morocco78th—
79India79th—
80Tunisia80th—
81Indonesia81st68.0
82Guatemala82nd—
83Sri Lanka83rd66.9
84Philippines84th—
85South Africa85th—
86Cambodia86th—
87Peru87th—
88Laos89th—
89Jordan90th—
90Egypt91st—
91Bangladesh92nd—
92Kenya93rd—
93Pakistan94th—
94Myanmar95th—
95Zimbabwe96th—
96Ethiopia97th—
97Ghana98th—
98Nigeria99th—
99Angola100th—
—Honduras—67.6
—Nicaragua—72.7
—Montenegro—68.4
—Belize—73.1

What correlates with US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking (2026)?

Pearson r against 1,733 other country metrics sharing at least 60 countries. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that rank better on US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Social Mobility IndexSocial Mobility by Country
    r = −0.93 · very strong · n = 76
    Plot
  2. Social Progress IndexSocial Progress Index by Country
    r = −0.92 · very strong · n = 97
    Plot
  3. Quality of Life Rank (US News)Standard of Living by CountryA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.92 · very strong · n = 99
    Plot
  4. LP Living ConditionsLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.91 · very strong · n = 99
    Plot
  5. Energy Trilemma Index RankEnergy Trilemma Energy Performance IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.91 · very strong · n = 94
    Plot
  6. Health and Environment Infrastructure ScoreInfrastructure by Country
    r = −0.91 · very strong · n = 61
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that rank better on US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. Gender Inequality Index ScoreGender Inequality Index by Country
    r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 98
    Plot
  2. Vulnerability Score (lower is better)Countries that Still Have Slavery
    r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 95
    Plot
  3. Vulnerability ScoreGlobal Slavery Index by Country
    r = +0.88 · very strong · n = 95
    Plot
  4. % of Pop. Living on Less Than $10 USD/DayPoverty Rate by Country
    r = +0.86 · very strong · n = 90
    Plot
  5. Public ServicesFailed States
    r = +0.86 · very strong · n = 99
    Plot
  6. Failed States IndexFailed States
    r = +0.84 · very strong · n = 99
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country ranks first on US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking?
Sweden ranks first on US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking in 2026, at 1st, followed by Iceland (2nd) and Norway (3rd). Rank 1 is the best country.
Which country ranks last on US News Comfortable Retirement Ranking?
Angola ranks last of the 99 countries with data in 2026, at 100th.
Where does this best countries to retire data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Best Countries for a Comfortable Retirement - US News; Best Places to Retire: The Annual Global Retirement Index - International Living; Global Retirement Index 2026 - International Living.

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