Methodology

Relocator ranks 59 countries across 10 data-driven dimensions. It narrows the field to a shortlist — it does not make the decision for you.

Composite scoring

Your composite score is a weighted sum of all dimension scores. Each slider weight is normalised so they sum to 1.0. Dimensions set to 0 are excluded. If a country is missing data for a dimension, that dimension is excluded and the remaining weights re-normalise automatically. Countries missing more than 3 dimensions are flagged as "limited data."

composite = Σ (dimension_score × normalised_weight)

Normalisation

All raw values are normalised to a 0–100 scale where higher is always better. For indices where a lower raw value is better (e.g., GPI, Pew restrictions), the scale is inverted. Min-max boundaries are set from observed data across the 60-country panel.

The 10 dimensions

Purchasing Power

economic

How far money stretches in each country — based on price levels, purchasing parity, and healthcare costs. Uses country-level data, not your personal salary.

purchasing_power = oecd_ppp_normalised × 0.55 + cost_affordability × 0.30 + (100 − oop_burden) × 0.15

OECD PPPWorld Bank Price LevelWHO OOP Health Expenditure

Country-level only — no city-level granularity until Numbeo added in V2.

Civic Culture

social

Rule of law, corruption control, and interpersonal trust — how well institutions and people behave.

civic_culture = wgi_rule_of_law × 0.40 + wgi_corruption_control × 0.35 + wvs_trust × 0.25

World Bank WGI Rule of LawWorld Bank WGI Control of CorruptionWorld Values Survey

WVS has 5-year refresh lag. Falls back to WGI-only formula (55/45 split) when WVS data is missing.

Safety

safety

Overall peace and security based on conflict risk, political instability, and societal safety.

safety = gpi_normalised (inverted, min-max across 1.0–3.5)

Global Peace Index

Single-source in V1 — less robust than a blend. Numbeo crime perception planned for V2.

Warmth

social

How welcoming and sociable the culture is — combining cultural permissiveness with expat experience.

warmth = ivr × 0.40 + internations_score × 0.60

Hofstede IVRInterNations Ease of Settling In

InterNations has ~260 respondents per country. Mismatch flag when abs(IVR − InterNations) > 30.

School Culture

social

Academic quality plus student wellbeing — belonging, bullying rates, and school safety.

school_culture = pisa_academic × 0.25 + pisa_belonging × 0.30 + pisa_bullying_inv × 0.30 + pisa_safety × 0.15

OECD PISA 2022

PISA 2022 is the latest edition. Next update expected 2025.

Healthcare

economic

Health system capability and financial protection — service coverage minus out-of-pocket burden.

healthcare = who_uhc_normalised × 0.55 + (100 − who_oop_normalised) × 0.45

WHO UHC Service Coverage IndexWHO OOP Health Expenditure

WHO OOP has 1-2 year lag. Measures system-level coverage, not individual experience.

Infrastructure

economic

Quality of physical and digital infrastructure — transport, energy, communications, technology.

infrastructure = imd_infra_score (direct pass-through, already 0–100)

IMD World Competitiveness Infrastructure Score

IMD uses 300+ indicators per country. Well-validated but only covers ~60 countries.

Climate

lifestyle

Temperature, sunshine, and rainfall scored against your preferred weather type. Select your preference during onboarding or adjust in the ranking view.

climate = 100 − (|avg_temp − ref| × penalty) − rain_penalty − sunshine_penalty. Reference temp and thresholds vary by weather type.

Open-Meteo ERA5

Uses capital city weather as proxy for the whole country. Heuristic scoring, not a climate model.

Religious Freedom

identity

Government restrictions and social hostility toward religious practice.

religious_freedom = (100 − pew_govt_normalised) × 0.50 + (100 − pew_social_normalised) × 0.50

Pew Government Restrictions IndexPew Social Hostilities Index

Expert-assessed, not survey-based. Captures state/social level, not neighbourhood level.

English Proficiency

lifestyle

Population-level English ability. English-native countries are scored at 100.

english_proficiency = ef_epi_normalised (min-max across 300–700). Native countries hardcoded to 100.

EF English Proficiency Index

EF EPI tests self-selected online test-takers, which skews slightly upward.

What this tool does NOT cover

Once you have your shortlist, here's what to research next:

Visa and immigration pathways
Housing costs and availability
Tax systems and take-home pay
Job market strength by industry
Language courses and integration programmes

Download raw data

CSV of all normalised scores for all 59 countries. Use it for your own analysis.