Moving abroad tends to bring up a familiar checklist: visas, housing, maybe a new language to fumble through. Healthcare often sits lower on that list, right up until someone actually needs a doctor. A fresh round of survey data from InterNations, drawn from tens of thousands of people already living the expat life, gives a clearer picture of where medical care feels reliable, affordable, and genuinely accessible once the paperwork settles.
The results come from the InterNations Expat Insider 2025 report, which asked expats to rate healthcare in their adopted countries on affordability, availability, quality, and equal access. Only countries with at least 50 responses were included in the analysis, resulting in 46 ranked destinations, with expats evaluating each factor on a scale from one to seven. The eight countries below came out on top, and each one gets there in a slightly different way.
1. Spain
According to InterNations’ Expat Insider 2025 report, Spain is the top destination for healthcare for expats. The numbers behind that ranking are hard to argue with. The findings reveal that 83% of respondents say healthcare is affordable compared to a global average of 59%, and another 82% say health services are easy to access, with 81% rating the overall quality highly, well above the global benchmark of 67%.
A lot of that satisfaction traces back to the structure of the system itself. These high ratings are closely tied to Spain’s national healthcare system, the Sistema Nacional de Salud, which offers near-universal coverage to legal residents. It also feeds into how expats feel about life in Spain overall, not just medical care. As for the current expats that participated in the study, 84% reported being satisfied with life in Spain, significantly higher than the global average of 67%.
2. France
France has held a spot near the top of these rankings for years, and 2025 was no exception. France ranks second due to its universal healthcare system, which provides quality care at relatively low cost. The system, known as Assurance Maladie, is built around shared reimbursement rather than free-at-the-point-of-use care.
The French system reimburses 70% of the cost of a standard GP visit, currently €26.50, with the remainder typically covered by a complementary mutuelle top-up policy, while MRI scans, specialist visits, and treatment for chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are reimbursed at higher rates, with no annual cap on serious illness. Getting into the system as a newcomer isn’t instant, though. Expats from outside the EU who hold a long-stay visa become eligible for the public system after three months of legal residence.
3. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia landing in third place surprises people who still picture the region as an afterthought for healthcare. That reputation is shifting fast, and the survey data backs it up. Saudi Arabia offers a comprehensive healthcare system structured with primary, secondary, and tertiary care, covering everything from preventive services at local clinics to advanced treatments and specialized procedures at major hospitals.
Much of what expats experience day to day comes down to where the big investment has gone. Major cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam feature advanced hospitals, specialist centres, and growing private healthcare networks, and many skilled expatriates receive employer-sponsored insurance, which can significantly improve access. For professionals arriving on corporate relocation packages, that employer link often makes the difference between a smooth transition and a stressful one.
4. Cyprus
Cyprus rounds out the top tier of this year’s rankings, and it’s easy to see why once you factor in both medicine and lifestyle. The top five countries are all located adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea or in the Middle East, with Cyprus and Qatar rounding out the top five. The island has spent recent years modernizing what used to be a fairly modest system.
Cyprus combines modern medical services with a relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle, and the country has upgraded its healthcare system in recent years, including broader public coverage and better hospital standards. Expats settled in the coastal cities tend to notice the difference most directly. Expats in cities such as Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, and Paphos often report good access to doctors and shorter waiting times than in some larger countries.
5. Qatar
Qatar’s presence in the top five reflects a deliberate, well-funded strategy rather than luck. Doha offers internationally accredited hospitals, specialist centres, and a healthcare environment designed to support a large expatriate population, with many expats receiving insurance through employment packages, and the country combining quality healthcare with high safety standards and modern infrastructure, making it especially attractive for families and professionals on overseas assignments.
The system does draw a clear line between citizens and foreign residents, though. Foreign nationals from outside the GCC region are not covered by the public healthcare system, and instead they must take out private health insurance from a company that is registered with the MOPH. Employer-sponsored coverage tends to smooth that requirement out for most working expats, which is likely part of why satisfaction scores stay high despite the extra step.
6. Luxembourg
Luxembourg is a small country punching well above its weight in this ranking, and its expat population, one of the highest proportionally in Europe, seems to agree. Luxembourg places sixth and is known for efficiency, wealth, and excellent public services, and despite its small size, it provides strong access to doctors, modern hospitals, and reliable insurance frameworks, with multilingual services commonly available for foreign residents.
Geography adds an extra layer of flexibility that few other countries can match. Its location also allows access to neighbouring healthcare systems in Belgium, France, and Germany, adding extra flexibility for residents. The system does run on a reimbursement model rather than direct free care, which catches some newcomers off guard. The healthcare system of Luxembourg works on a reimbursement basis, meaning patients need to pay upfront before they avail of medical services.
7. Japan
Japan lands as the highest-ranked Asian country on the list, and its healthcare system has been a benchmark for decades. Japan ranks highest among Asian countries listed here, followed by Thailand. The country’s universal insurance framework is one of the more straightforward systems for newcomers to enter, since enrollment tends to happen quickly once residency is established.
What tends to stand out to expats is less about paperwork and more about the day-to-day experience of getting treated. Consistently short wait times, dense networks of clinics even outside the major cities, and a strong culture of preventive screening all play into why Japan keeps appearing near the top of global healthcare comparisons. It’s not the cheapest system on this list, but the combination of speed and quality keeps it in the upper ranks year after year.
8. Thailand
Thailand closes out the top eight, and it does so for reasons that differ quite a bit from the European entries above it. Thailand takes eighth place and remains one of the most popular healthcare destinations in Asia, with Bangkok home to internationally known private hospitals that attract patients from around the world, while Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Pattaya also offer strong private healthcare options.
Access to the public system, however, isn’t automatic for most foreign residents. Expats living in Thailand generally do not have automatic access to the public healthcare system unless they work for a Thai employer and contribute to Thailand’s Social Security Scheme. That’s part of why private hospitals dominate the expat experience there. Expats often highlight Thailand’s combination of modern facilities, relatively reasonable costs, and warm service culture, and it is especially popular with retirees, remote workers, and long-term foreign residents.
What the rankings actually tell us
Looking at these eight countries together, a pattern emerges that goes beyond simple wealth or hospital counts. The strongest performers all found some workable balance between public coverage and private options, giving expats a fallback when one system falls short. Mediterranean and Gulf countries dominating the top five also hints at something less obvious: newer, heavily invested healthcare infrastructure can outpace older systems that are dealing with aging populations and stretched budgets.
None of these rankings replace the need for personal research before a move. Waiting periods, insurance requirements, and language access still vary enormously by visa type and city, even within a single country. Still, for anyone weighing where to settle next, having a survey built on real expat experience rather than abstract system rankings offers a genuinely useful starting point.
