Search best countries for Americans to move to 2027 and most of what comes back ranks beaches, rent and weather. This ranking asks a different question first: which countries hold up in a bad year? I scored 60 countries on 11 public measures, from the Global Peace Index to how much of its own grain a country grows. Nine failed the first filter. Australia came first with 85.1 out of 100.
Then I checked the door. Only three of the top 12 have one a retiree on an ordinary pension can realistically walk through.
That second finding surprised me more than the ranking did, and it’s the part to read if you’re planning a move on a pension. I live in Spain, which came 25th. I’ll say where it lost points too.
How the ranking works
Eleven measures, each worth up to 10 points. The first six ask whether a country gets through a bad year:
- Safety: the Global Peace Index 2026, which ranks 163 countries
- Crime: murders per 100,000 people, from UN data
- Water: how much of its renewable fresh water a country uses each year. Under 25% is what the UN calls no stress
- Food: does it sell more food than it buys, and does it grow its own grain?
- Energy: does it produce what it burns?
- Stability: the World Bank’s political stability rating, capped for any country that borders a country at war or gets most of its food or fuel through one strait
The other five ask whether you’d want to live there in a good year: income per person at local prices, UNESCO cultural sites, nature (protected land plus UNESCO natural sites), how well people speak English, and investment potential, meaning growth forecasts plus rule of law.
Water, energy, stability, protected land and murder rates come from the World Bank’s development indicators. Food and grain come from FAOSTAT, English from the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, income and growth from the IMF’s April 2026 outlook.
One rule comes before any scoring. A country ranked below 100th on the peace index doesn’t get scored at all. Nine fell out there: Mexico (139th), Colombia (141st), Ecuador, Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, Peru, the Philippines (102nd) and Thailand (101st). That left 51.
Why a bad-year filter
Because bad years arrive without asking. Since February 28, 2026, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly stopped. The IMF’s PortWatch satellite counts averaged 85.5 ships a day through the strait in 2025. In the first 20 days of September 2026, the average was 3.9. Four ships a day, down from 85.
The Gulf states import 70% to 90% of their staple food, according to the FAO, and it says overland routes can’t replace the ships. Supermarkets there have flown in fresh produce and trucked groceries through Oman.
Europe has been preparing its own households. The EU asks every home to keep 72 hours of supplies. Sweden mailed a crisis brochure to every household. Germany’s civil protection agency now suggests ten days.
None of this means trouble is coming wherever you move. It means “what happens if the ships stop?” belongs on the list next to rent.
Best countries for Americans to move to 2027: the top 12
| # | Country | Score | Peace rank | Door for a US retiree without a job offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 85.1 | 20th | Closed: retirement visas shut to newcomers |
| 2 | Canada | 82.0 | 14th | None; six months as a visitor |
| 3 | New Zealand | 76.3 | 2nd | Age 66+, about $716,000 in capital, never becomes residence |
| 4 | Norway | 75.2 | 33rd | None without a job or your own company |
| 5 | Denmark | 74.1 | 11th | None |
| 6 | Malaysia | 73.1 | 12th | MM2H: from a $32,000 deposit plus a home purchase |
| 7 | Sweden | 73.1 | 40th | Visitor permit, six months at most |
| 8 | Iceland | 72.5 | 1st | None; the remote-work visa was abolished in 2026 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 72.4 | 39th | None; six months as a visitor |
| 10 | Croatia | 70.5 | 23rd | Over 60 and owning property there: €869.40 a month ($991) |
| 11 | Austria | 69.9 | 6th | €2,616.78 a month ($2,983) and a place in a small yearly quota |
| 12 | France | 69.5 | 99th | Long-stay visitor visa: about €1,480 a month ($1,690) |
Just outside: Switzerland, Poland and Slovenia.
A few notes on what put them there. Australia exports about 2.4 times as much grain as it uses and about twice the energy, with almost no water stress. Canada is a food, grain and energy exporter using under 4% of its fresh water, and it loses a little on crime, about two murders per 100,000. Norway exports roughly seven times the energy it uses, but its stability score is capped because it shares a land border with a country at war.
Malaysia is the surprise. It’s 12th on the peace index, ahead of Canada, uses about 3% of its water, balances its energy, and has the fastest growth forecast in the top 12. Croatia has very low crime, 38% of its land protected, and better English than France or Spain. France exports food, has 47 UNESCO cultural sites, more than anyone else in the top 12, and barely clears the peace floor at 99th.
The catch: the best scorers are the hardest to get into
A country that feeds itself and sits far from anyone’s war doesn’t need to attract retirees. Most of the top eight don’t. That isn’t bad luck. Of those eight, only Malaysia has a route an ordinary retiree can use, and it asks you to buy property.
Two more in the top 12 have doors, at a price. Austria’s settlement permit for people living on their own means asks for €2,616.78 a month ($2,983) and a place in a small yearly quota. New Zealand’s retirement visitor visa is for people 66 and over with about $716,000 in capital, and it never turns into residence.
So here’s the realistic list: countries that passed the peace filter and have a door that opens for a pension.
| Rank | Country | Route | Money test | In dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Malaysia | MM2H, special economic zone tier, age 50+ | $32,000 deposit plus a home purchase | — |
| 10 | Croatia | Temporary stay, age 60+ with property | €869.40 a month | $991 |
| 12 | France | Long-stay visitor visa | About €1,480 a month | about $1,690 |
| 22 | Bulgaria | Pensioner residence | Pension of at least the minimum wage, about €620 | about $707 |
| 25 | Spain | Non-Lucrative Visa | €2,400 a month | $2,736 |
| 29 | Portugal | D7 visa | €920 a month | $1,049 |
| 32 | Albania | Pensioner residence | About €970 a month | about $1,106 |
| 39 | Uruguay | Legal residence | Enough income to live on, no fixed figure | — |
| 40 | Costa Rica | Pensionado | $1,000 lifetime pension | $1,000 |
Now hold that against one number. The average retired worker’s Social Security benefit was $2,086 a month in July 2026. Every income test in that table sits below it except Spain’s. Malaysia’s is a capital test, not an income one.
Bulgaria was the find of the wider list. It rarely makes these lists, and it sells more food than it buys. Thresholds move every January, so confirm with the consulate before you apply.
Where the popular choices landed
Spain, 25th. It still does well on food and culture. What drops it is water: it uses 43% of its renewable supply every year, well past the 25% no-stress line, and it imports 77% of its energy. I’d still choose it. But I know exactly what I’m trading. More on the life there in the Spain guide.
Portugal, 29th. The easiest door in Western Europe at €920 a month, and among the most peaceful countries in the world at 7th. It loses on self-sufficiency: it imports about 81% of its grain and 77% of its energy.
Uruguay, 39th. The highest political stability score of any country in the ranking, and it sells more than three times as much food as it buys. Crime pulls it down, at about 11 murders per 100,000.
Costa Rica, 40th. Stable and green, with an easy door at $1,000 a month. Its murder rate, nearly 18 per 100,000, is the highest of any country that passed the peace floor. Its route and Uruguay’s are compared in Latin America’s retirement visas.
The Netherlands, 18th, and Germany, 19th. Very low crime, strong English, and heavy energy imports: 87% and 71%.
Mexico and Thailand aren’t scored at all. If they’re on your list, the other pages on this site are more useful: Mexico and Southeast Asia on $1,500 a month.
Three ways to misread a list like this
“A high score means I can move there.” Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and the United Kingdom all rank in the top nine, and none has a route for a retiree without a job. The score measures the country. The door is a separate question.
“Not scored means dangerous everywhere.” The peace index is a national number. Mexico at 139th covers border states and quiet colonial towns alike, and France at 99th covers central Paris and a Normandy village alike. Your city matters more than your country’s rank.
“Resilient means affordable.” Cost of living and healthcare aren’t in the score. Norway is 4th and has income per person above $115,000 at local prices. A country that survives a blockade can still be one you can’t afford.
What this ranking can’t see
Climate. Heat and fire risk are real, and national averages hide too much of them.
Cities, as above.
Healthcare and cost of living, which have their own pages here: retiring abroad on $2,000 a month and public healthcare for foreign residents.
And you. Whether you’ll learn the language, how you’d fit in, what you’ll do on an ordinary Tuesday. No public database measures that.
The spreadsheet
Every raw number behind this page is in the free spreadsheet: all 60 countries, each measure’s source, and a row of weights at the top. If water matters more to you than culture, change the weights and sort by your own score. The top of the list moves more than you’d think. Try it.
