Monaco is known for yachts, casinos and a Grand Prix that roars through the middle of town, and now it can add another title to the collection. According to a new index, the tiny Mediterranean city-state is the best place in the world to live.
The Nomad Lifestyle Index comes from Nomad Capitalist, a consultancy that advises wealthy clients on cutting their tax bills and gaining second passports. So take this list with a pinch of very expensive salt, as it’s catered to those with lots of money in the bank. Nomad Capitalist didn’t evaluate every country in the world; instead, it looked at 63 destinations based on audience interest.
Each destination was scored out of 100 on five pillars, with each counting for a fifth of the final score. Those were nature and climate, tax, how easy it is to move there and stay legally, safety and freedom, and quality of life and infrastructure.
Monaco garnered the highest score with 73.89 out of 100, receiving a perfect 100 for quality of life and infrastructure, the only 100 given for any pillar anywhere in the index. That pillar looks at things like life expectancy, broadband and mobile speeds, and a quality of life measure from Numbeo. Monaco also scored 89.7 for safety and freedom, and 84.0 for tax. It’s not a clean sweep, though. Nature and climate came in at 44.6, while residence and access scored 51.1 because of limited residence pathways, a ten-year tenure to become a citizen, and the requirement to renounce your existing nationality.
Second place goes to Andorra, just 0.21 points behind on 73.68. The mountainous microstate between France and Spain scored 96.0 for safety and freedom, level with the UAE’s tax score as the highest on any pillar other than Monaco’s perfect quality of life mark. It also scored 83.9 for quality of life and 62.9 for nature and climate.
In third is the United Arab Emirates on 73.15, which leads the whole index for tax with a score of 96.0 and does it without a special regime at all, thanks to its zero rate. It also scored 78.7 for residence and access, although safety and freedom was its weakest pillar at 58.8.
Fourth and fifth are two more European countries. Malta (72.11) leads the index for residence and access with a score of 95.0, helped by the strongest passport score in the index and all five residence pathways being open. Portugal (70.09) boasts a steady spread of scores, ranging from 47.8 for nature and climate to 86.1 for safety and freedom.
The best countries to live in 2026, according to Nomad Capitalist
- Monaco (73.89)
- Andorra (73.68)
- United Arab Emirates (73.15)
- Malta (72.11)
- Portugal (70.09)
- Cyprus (68.42)
- Singapore (67.12)
- Cayman Islands (66.50)
- New Zealand (66.43)
- Switzerland (65.44)
- Panama (64.91)
- Seychelles (64.46)
- Ireland (63.97)
- Liechtenstein (63.33)
- Czech Republic (62.97)
- Hong Kong (62.21)
- Mauritius (62.01)
- Estonia (61.26)
- Luxembourg (60.98)
- Latvia (60.55)
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