A more human view of life around the world.

Experiences, not universal truths

Life in Countries is a place to share everyday experiences of living, working, studying or visiting a country. A country average cannot describe everyone’s life. Consider the city, circumstances and dates of each account. Reviews are personal opinions, not independently verified facts.

How ratings work

Overall experience is required. The overall score is the arithmetic mean of approved overall ratings, rounded to one decimal place. Category ratings are optional and use only the approved reviews that rated that category. Each category has its own count. Missing ratings never count as zero. Pending, rejected and removed reviews do not count. Five is always best: a high cost-of-living score means affordable living, and high transparency means low corruption.

Many languages, one experience

The interface is available in English, Russian, Ukrainian and Spanish. Original reviews are preserved. Translations are labelled and the original can be opened on the page. Automatic translations can contain mistakes. A translated review is still one review with one set of ratings.

Country coverage

The directory includes 195 countries. Names and inclusion help navigation and do not express a position on sovereignty or borders.