Portugal took the first position in the ranking of the friendliest countries in the world, obtaining a score of 94%, with the global average being 67%.

The survey, carried out in 180 countries, and conducted by the platform The Travel of the travel agency Globe Trotter Travel, called “The Expat Insider Survey” aimed to determine the friendliest countries in the world. To this end, information was collected on the way in which the citizens of each country treat foreigners, the ease of making friends with the locals, as well as the probability of the foreign citizen establishing permanent residence in the country of visit.

Portugal occupies, for the first time, the first position in this survey, followed by Taiwan, Mexico, Cambodia, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Oman, Colombia, Vietnam and Canada. According to The Travel, “Expats love the warm friendship of the Portuguese people”.

Around 36% of the people surveyed said they immediately felt “at home” in Portugal, a figure that corresponds to almost double the global average. Of these people, about 47% responded that they contemplated the possibility of staying in the country indefinitely. A significant number of respondents stated that most of the friends they have in Portugal are locals.

In the opposite perspective, Kuwait occupies for the fourth time in a row the position of least friendly country towards expatriates, followed by Switzerland and Austria. The Travel cites a “lack of interest in making friends” on the part of Austrians and the “coldness and restlessness” of the Swiss as main reasons why expats consider these countries less open to foreign nationals.

Source: Jornal Económico