A country’s friendliness can make or break the experience of visiting or moving there. Some places have a genuine warmth, an ease of making friends, an openness to newcomers, that leaves visitors and new residents feeling truly at home. Each year, large surveys of expats and travelers, such as the well-known Expat Insider survey by InterNations, rank the world’s most welcoming countries based on how friendly locals are, how easy it is to settle in, and how readily newcomers can build a social life. The results consistently highlight a warm, hospitable group of nations. Here’s a look at some of the most welcoming countries in the world, and what makes their people and cultures so wonderfully open to outsiders.
How Welcoming Is Measured
It helps to understand what “welcoming” means in these rankings. Surveys like the Expat Insider poll ask thousands of people living abroad to rate their experiences, including how friendly locals are in general and specifically toward foreigners, how easy it is to make local friends, how at home they feel, and how readily they can settle into the culture. When enough individual experiences are pooled, clear patterns emerge about which countries genuinely embrace newcomers. Of course, friendliness is personal, you can feel welcome in an “unfriendly” country or unwelcome in a “friendly” one, but these large surveys reveal meaningful trends. The nations that top them share a culture of warmth, openness, and easy hospitality.
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Mexico
Mexico is renowned the world over for its warmth, and it consistently ranks among the very friendliest countries for newcomers. Expats frequently praise the genuine openness of Mexican culture, where locals are welcoming, sociable, and quick to make foreigners feel at home. Surveys regularly find that a high share of newcomers in Mexico make local friends with ease, far above the global average, and feel embraced by the surrounding community. Combined with its rich culture, lively traditions, delicious food, and relaxed pace of life, this hospitality makes Mexico a favorite for visitors and expats alike. The country’s reputation for heartfelt friendliness is well earned and a big part of its enduring appeal.
Indonesia
Indonesia frequently tops global friendliness rankings, with expats describing locals as exceptionally warm, kind, and quick to welcome outsiders. Beyond the famous tourist draw of Bali, the country as a whole is celebrated for a culture of hospitality in which newcomers find it remarkably easy to feel at home and make local friends. Surveys consistently place Indonesia at or near the top for the openness of its people and the ease of settling in. This genuine warmth, paired with the country’s beautiful landscapes, rich cultures, and welcoming spirit, makes Indonesia one of the most embracing places in the world for travelers and new residents. Its friendliness leaves a lasting impression on those who experience it.
Colombia
Colombia has surged up the rankings as one of the world’s most welcoming countries, with expats and visitors raving about the warmth and friendliness of its people. Newcomers report strong, supportive social networks, finding it easy to build genuine friendships, and many say their friends end up being mostly locals rather than fellow expats, a sign of real integration rather than surface-level politeness. This deep hospitality, combined with Colombia’s lively culture, music, and improving reputation as a destination, has made it a standout for those seeking a warm welcome. While newcomers are encouraged to stay informed about practical matters, the genuine friendliness of Colombians is consistently celebrated.
Panama
Panama is another country that excels at making newcomers feel at home, regularly topping rankings for the ease of finding friends and building a social life. Expats there report high levels of satisfaction with their social lives and describe locals as friendly and welcoming toward foreign residents. The country’s blend of a warm, sociable culture, a sizable and well-integrated international community, and an easygoing lifestyle makes settling in notably smooth. Combined with its tropical setting and modern conveniences, Panama’s hospitality has helped make it a perennial favorite among expats from around the world. For those looking for a place where they’ll quickly feel they belong, Panama consistently delivers a warm welcome.
The Philippines
The Philippines is famous for the genuine friendliness and hospitality of its people, regularly earning high marks as one of the most welcoming nations on Earth. Filipinos are celebrated for their warmth, ready smiles, and gracious treatment of guests and newcomers, and the widespread use of English makes communication easy for many visitors. Expats and travelers often describe feeling embraced and cared for, finding it easy to build friendships and feel part of the community. This deeply rooted culture of hospitality, combined with the country’s beautiful islands and lively spirit, makes the Philippines a place where outsiders frequently feel remarkably at home, surrounded by genuine kindness and good cheer.
Thailand
Thailand, long nicknamed the “Land of Smiles,” lives up to its reputation as one of the warmest and most welcoming countries for visitors and newcomers. Expats consistently rank Thailand highly for how welcome they feel, how easily they make friends, and how readily they adapt to the local culture. The famous Thai friendliness, combined with the country’s affordability, delicious cuisine, beautiful beaches, and relaxed lifestyle, has made it a beloved destination for travelers, digital nomads, and expats for decades. Newcomers often find it surprisingly easy to settle in and feel at home amid such genuine hospitality. Thailand’s enduring popularity is a direct reflection of just how welcoming its people and culture are.
Portugal and Other Warm Welcomes
Beyond the leaders, several other countries are celebrated for their hospitality. Portugal is frequently praised for its friendly, easygoing locals and its appeal to expats and retirees, blending European quality of life with genuine warmth. Other nations that regularly earn high friendliness marks include Brazil, with its famously sociable culture; various Southeast Asian countries known for gracious hospitality; and assorted spots across Latin America. These countries share a common thread: cultures that prize sociability, openness, and making others feel welcome. Their consistent appearance in friendliness rankings shows that a warm welcome can be found across many regions, each with its own flavor of hospitality and charm.
What Makes a Country Feel Welcoming
Looking at the friendliest nations, common traits emerge. The most welcoming countries tend to have cultures that genuinely value sociability, community, and hospitality, where chatting with strangers, including newcomers into social circles, and treating guests warmly are deeply ingrained customs. Many top-ranked countries are in Latin America and Southeast Asia, regions often noted for their outgoing, community-oriented cultures. Ease of making local friends, rather than just polite service, is the real marker of a welcoming place. These qualities create environments where outsiders quickly feel they belong. Understanding what makes these cultures so open offers insight into the universal human warmth that makes travel and relocation so rewarding.
Where the Warmest Welcomes Await
For travelers and would-be expats, the world’s most welcoming countries offer something precious: the feeling of being genuinely embraced, of making real friends, and of quickly feeling at home in an unfamiliar place. From Mexico’s heartfelt hospitality to Thailand’s famous smiles and Colombia’s warm communities, these nations prove that a friendly welcome can transform any trip or move into a deeply rewarding experience. While every individual’s experience varies, these consistently top-ranked countries are wonderful places to start for anyone seeking warmth, connection, and genuine human kindness on their travels or in a new home abroad.
