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Ranking

The cheapest countries to live in

These are the cheapest countries in our data, ranked by the average cost of living across the cities we cover in each — a Numbeo-based index where New York City = 100, so a country averaging 40 is roughly 60% cheaper than NYC. Because affordability only helps if you can stay, each row also shows the country's easiest long-stay route and links to a city there to start with.

CountryAvg cost index (NYC=100)
  1. 1NepalAsia · retiree route · start with Kathmandu →15
  2. 2EgyptAfrica · retiree route · start with Cairo →15
  3. 3IndiaAsia · harder visa route · start with Bangalore →20
  4. 4VietnamAsia · harder visa route · start with Da Nang →20
  5. 5MoroccoAfrica · harder visa route · start with Marrakech →22
  6. 6KenyaAfrica · nomad visa · start with Nairobi →23
  7. 7EcuadorLatin America · nomad visa · start with Quito →23
  8. 8Sri LankaAsia · nomad visa · start with Colombo →24
  9. 9PeruLatin America · retiree route · start with Cusco →24
  10. 10MalaysiaAsia · nomad visa · start with Penang →25
  11. 11ColombiaLatin America · nomad visa · start with Bogotá →25
  12. 12TanzaniaAfrica · retiree route · start with Zanzibar →25
  13. 13BrazilLatin America · nomad visa · start with Florianópolis →25
  14. 14PhilippinesAsia · nomad visa · start with Cebu →26
  15. 15CambodiaAsia · retiree route · start with Phnom Penh →27
  16. 16GeorgiaEurope · nomad visa · start with Tbilisi →28
  17. 17JordanMiddle East · harder visa route · start with Amman →28
  18. 18ChileLatin America · nomad visa · start with Santiago →28
  19. 19South AfricaAfrica · nomad visa · start with Cape Town →30
  20. 20GuatemalaLatin America · retiree route · start with Antigua →30

Income floors, tax basis, and residency paths from our country feasibility data (directional). Immigration and tax rules change — verify current rules with official sources before you move. Updated 2026-06.

A cheap country is a wide door, not a destination — costs, safety, and feel vary enormously city to city within one country. Use this to narrow the map, then let the assessment find the specific city that fits the life you're building.

Common questions

What is the cheapest country to live in?

By average cost of living across the cities we cover, the cheapest countries sit in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe — the ranking above orders them. The cheapest country that's right for you also depends on whether you can legally stay, which is why each row shows the visa route.

Can I actually move to the cheapest countries?

Sometimes easily, sometimes not — cost and feasibility are separate questions. Each row flags the country's easiest long-stay route (nomad visa, retirement/income route, or harder), and the linked country page covers the income floor, tax, and residency path in detail.

Which of these fits you?

A list is a place to start, not a way to choose. The assessment reads every city through your relocation profile — and surfaces the ones that fit the life you’re trying to build.

Take the assessment →