Those thinking of moving to Germany may have been given pause by recent headlines stating that the country has been ranked second-worst in the world by a large survey of expats. Is it really so bad?
Germany has once again landed near the bottom of a ranking of the easiest countries to move to.
Foreigners who live in Germany graded the country pretty harshly; especially for its dizzying bureaucracy, it's lack of digital services and its cold locals.
Therefore Germany was ranked as the second-worst country for expats in 2026, sitting at 30th out of 31 destinations evaluated, according to the Expat Insider 2026 survey by InterNations. The only country which scored lower was Norway.
But is life in the foreigners' experience in the Bundesrepublik really that bleak?
The Frustrations: Bureaucracy and the digital stone age
In addition to the overall "Best and worst countries for expats" ranking, InterNations' survey report also ranked countries in a number of different categories and sub-categories, like; "quality of life," "ease of settling in," or "working abroad."
Germany’s most significant failure was in "digital life" where it ranks dead last at 31st.
Probably of no surprise to anyone who lives in Germany, the country got the worst score for cashless payment options – foreigners who live here were four times as likely to complain about the lack of widespread card acceptance compared with the global average.
Expats also noted struggling with poor internet connections and a lack of online government services.
Stubborn bureaucracy is a major pain point, with over three in five respondents (61 percent) finding it difficult to deal with German authorities.
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A chilly reception by locals and struggles integrating into the local culture were also commonly mentioned major challenges.
Only 42 percent of expats said they felt that locals are friendly toward foreign residents, far below the global average of 61 percent.
Making local friends is tough, according to 57 percent of expats who took the survey. Consequently, foreigners here can be slow to integrate, with 41 percent of respondents stating their friends are mostly other expats.
Overall, fewer than half of expats (48 percent) say they truly feel at home in Germany.
Compounding the above hurdles is the language barrier: 49 percent of expats say it is hard to get by without speaking German, which was the top pre-move worry for over half of all respondents.
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Interestingly, however, among those surveyed there wasn't a significant group saying they would like to leave the country immediately. Forty one percent of respondents indicated they hadn't made a decision about staying or going in the future yet. Of the rest, 22 percent indicated they planned to stay in Germany forever, while 17 percent said they'd likely leave in the far future.
Decent for finances and quality of life
When it comes to money and living standards, Germany’s results could be described as mid.
Seventy-one percent of expats said their disposable household income is enough for a comfortable life, but overall satisfaction with their financial situation was slightly below the global average.
Germany scored a bit better for factors related to quality of life.
It's road network was ranked as 10th best in the world, according to respondents, and it scored even better (6th) for the availability of 'green' goods and services.
However, expats express comparative dissatisfaction with both healthcare (23rd) and available leisure options (24th).
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The upside: Solid work-life balance
Bleak as some of the top-line results may seem, the survey wasn't entirely bad for Germany.
For those who move to Germany primarily for their career (which was 36 percent of respondents), the country offers strong professional benefits.
Germany’s best showing is in the "Working Abroad" category, where is ranked 19th overall. Notably, it was rated particularly highly for having a great work-life balance. It was ranked 12th in its subcategory.
"People really value their free time," a Polish expat in Munich was quoted as saying, "which makes it easier to relax, travel, and spend time with family or friends."
Expats in Germany also reported a shorter average full-time workweek of 40.4 hours, compared to 42.2 hours on average globally. Roughly two-thirds of respondents in Germany said they were satisfied with their working hours and work-life balance.
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Job security was another perk, with 58 percent feeling secure in their roles, beating the global average of 54 percent.
Is the survey reliable?
The InterNations 2026 survey included a total of 7,786 expat respondents, representing 162 nationalities. Only countries where at least 50 respondents were located were included.
Notably Germany was the number one country of residence among respondents.
It's also worth noting that InterNations doesn't claim to have a method for verifying that responses were authentic.
Still, Germany's back-to-back-to-back poor rating in the expat survey can be seen as a telling sign that it's certainly not the easiest country to move to and integrate in.
But if job security and work-life balance are among your chief priorities, it very well may be worth a shot. Overall, despite all their frustrations, three in five expats (60 percent) said they were happy with their life in Germany.
Do you agree with the survey's assessment? We'd be glad to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
