Our Annual Retirement Index: All the Scores and How It’s Scored

Our Annual Retirement Index: How It’s Scored

Real Estate. Countries where real estate prices are low and the purchase of real estate is relatively easy receive the highest scores. We use our own experiences, plus reports from our contributing editors and from real estate contacts around the world, to rate each country. Weight in Index: 15%

Special Benefits. This category considers government provisions that make moving to and living in each country easier and more affordable for foreign retirees. Taken into account are discounts on health care, public transport, airfares, entertainment, utilities, whether you can import goods duty free, property rights for foreign residents, and property tax rates. Weight in Index: 20%

Cost of Living. This score is based on statistics from the Indexes of Living Costs Abroad, Quarter Allowances, and Hardship Differentials, published by the U. S. Department of State. We also use our first-hand experiences living and traveling in these countries. The lower the score, the higher the cost of living. Weight: 20%

Culture. To calculate this score, we look at literacy rates, education as a percentage of GDP, the number of UNESCO sites per square kilometer, and a subjective rating of the variety of cultural and recreational offerings. Weight in Index: 10%

Health Care. Considered in this category are the cost of a typical visit to a general practitioner and the cost and coverage particulars of health insurance. Also considered are the number of people per doctor, the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people, the percentage of the population with access to safe water, the infant mortality rate, life expectancy, and public health expenditure as a percentage of a country’s GDP. Weight in Index: 20%

Infrastructure. We look at the length of railways, paved highways, and navigable waterways in each country, and compare them to each country’s population and size. We also consider the number of airports, motor vehicles, telephones, Internet service providers, and cell phones per capita. Weight in Index: 5%

Safety and Stability. This measure of unrest in each country is based primarily on Interpol data and U.S. State Department statistics. It also takes into account the civil liberties and political rights granted by each government. Our own experiences and reports from expatriates living in these countries also influence the safety scores. Weight in Index: 5%

Climate. Countries with temperate weather throughout the year, moderate rain fall, and little risk of natural disaster come out on top in this category. We use data representing each country as a whole instead of favoring one region over another. Weight in Index: 5%

The Retirement Index 2011

Country Real Estate Special Benefits Cost of Living Culture  Health  Infra.

Safety Stability

Climate Total
Ecuador 100 95 80 83 74 26 82 96 84
Mexico 94 90 71 93 69 50 78 99 82
Panama 93 100 69 73 70 71 93 45 81
Spain 90 65 62 97 92 70 100 76 80
New Z. 96 55 69 92 91 65 100 85 79
France 75 60 58 100 100 80 100 88 78
Uruguay 94 76 67 75 77 52 100 94 78
Costa Rica 95 76 73 81 76 29 96 76 77
Malta 79 72 60 94 83 61 93 100 77
Italy 85 65 54 97 90 62 100 88 77
Chile 95 87 68 75 75 45 79 48 76
Argentina 92 60 72 83 76 57 100 94 76
Portugal 72 74 65 71 86 59 100 94 76
Ireland 78 80 51 84 85 65 100 73 75
Colombia 98 67 72 72 75 44 69 92 74
Brazil 92 74 73 75 57 44 89 80 73
Malaysia 96 62 77 72 67 53 86 43 72
Australia 57 69 55 83 82 61 100 83 70
Belize 83 78 75 63 63 11 74 62 69
Nicaragua 98 60 82 51 62 14 75 61 68
Thailand 92 45 77 78 72 32 79 24 67
Dom Rep 97 60 76 61 50 28 79 58 66
Honduras 97 50 76 61 45 13 79 83 64

 

*****************************************************************

Sign up for our FREE report on the world’s top retirement havens in 2011.

Simply enter your e-mail below to subscribe to International Living’s free daily e-letter and we’ll immediately send your free report–International Living’s 2011 Retirement Index–The World’s Top 10 Retirement Havens.

Get Your Free Report Here


Comments are closed.