Living and working abroad as an expat can be a dream come true for adventurous Americans, but the wrong destination can make the experience a waking nightmare.

To help guide those looking to move abroad, InterNations has published its Expat Insider 2021 study, which asked 12,420 expats in 174 countries or territories to rate up to 37 different aspects of life abroad, including issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The respondents’ ratings of the individual factors were then bundled in various combinations for a total of 13 subcategories, and their mean values were used to create five topical indices: Quality of Life; Ease of Settling In; Working Abroad; Personal Finance; and Cost of Living. The first four indices were further averaged together with expats’ general satisfaction with their life in order to rank the study sample’s 59 countries from first to worst.

For a country to be included in the indices and overall ranking, a sample size of at least 50 survey participants per expat destination was required.

Here, in ascending order, are Expat Insider's 10 worst countries to live and work abroad as an expat.

10. Malta

Malta ranks 54th in Overall Quality of Life; 35th in Ease of Settling In; 31st in Working Abroad; 51stin Personal Finance; and 35th in Cost of Living.