Sort:

Best Countries for Work-Life Balance 2026

Ranking 229 countries by working hours, vacation entitlements, and overall work-life quality. Find destinations that truly respect your time outside of work.

#	Country	Score
1	Finland	78.2
2	Andorra	75.2
3	Denmark	75.2
4	Norway	75
5	Monaco	74
6	Luxembourg	74
7	Sweden	74
8	Iceland	73.8
9	Germany	73.8
10	Austria	73.2
11	Liechtenstein	72.4
12	San Marino	72.2
13	Faroe Islands	72
14	Greenland	71.8
15	Panama	71.6
16	New Caledonia	70.8
17	Tahiti	70.8
18	France	70.6
19	Guadeloupe	69.8
20	Netherlands	69.8
21	Martinique	69.8
22	Réunion	69.4
23	French Guiana	69.2
24	United Kingdom	69.2
25	Estonia	68.8
26	Switzerland	68.4
27	Malta	68.2
28	Slovenia	68
29	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	68
30	Saint-Martin	68
31	Belgium	67.8
32	Gibraltar	67.2
33	Brazil	66.6
34	Mayotte	66.6
35	Spain	66.6
36	Kuwait	66.2
37	Ireland	66.2
38	Iran	65.8
39	Wallis and Futuna	65.2
40	New Zealand	65
41	Czech Republic	64.6
42	Portugal	64
43	Maldives	63.8
44	Slovakia	63.4
45	Cyprus	63.2
46	Moldova	62.8
47	Lithuania	62.6
48	Puerto Rico	62.6
49	Australia	62.2
50	Russia	62
51	Italy	61.8
52	Latvia	61.8
53	Croatia	61.8
54	Bahrain	61.6
55	Seychelles	61.4
56	Algeria	61.2
57	Cook Islands	61.2
58	Uruguay	60.8
59	Curacao	60.8
60	Albania	60.8
61	Peru	60.8
62	British Virgin Islands	60.6
63	Poland	60.6
64	Aruba	60.4
65	Niue	60
66	Romania	60
67	Bermuda	60
68	Georgia	60
69	Sint Maarten	59.6
70	Oman	59.6
71	Turks and Caicos Islands	59.4
72	Saint Kitts and Nevis	59.4
73	Mauritius	59.4
74	Bhutan	59.4
75	Montenegro	59.4
76	Qatar	59.2
77	Barbados	59.2
78	Cayman Islands	59.2
79	Serbia	59
80	Montserrat	58.8
81	Antigua and Barbuda	58.6
82	Anguilla	58.6
83	Hungary	58.6
84	Libya	58.2
85	Palau	58.2
86	Bulgaria	58
87	Turkmenistan	58
88	U.S. Virgin Islands	57.8
89	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	57.8
90	Canada	57.6
91	Brunei	57.6
92	Ivory Coast	57.6
93	Bosnia and Herzegovina	57.6
94	Saint Lucia	57.4
95	Bahamas	57.4
96	Grenada	57.2
97	Kazakhstan	56.8
98	Kyrgyzstan	56.6
99	United Arab Emirates	56.6
100	North Macedonia	56.4
101	Namibia	56.4
102	Dominica	56.4
103	Guam	56.4
104	Senegal	56.4
105	Dominican Republic	56.2
106	Chile	56
107	Cape Verde	56
108	Israel	55.8
109	Northern Mariana Islands	55.8
110	Togo	55.6
111	Mauritania	55.6
112	Guyana	55.4
113	Ukraine	55.4
114	Sri Lanka	55.4
115	Burkina Faso	55.2
116	Kosovo	55.2
117	Belize	55
118	Egypt	55
119	Mali	55
120	Argentina	55
121	Costa Rica	55
122	Greece	54.8
123	Trinidad and Tobago	54.6
124	Belarus	54.6
125	Suriname	54.2
126	Kiribati	54.2
127	Colombia	54
128	Niger	53.8
129	Vanuatu	53.8
130	Azerbaijan	53.6
131	Congo	53.6
132	Armenia	53.4
133	Japan	53.4
134	Djibouti	53.4
135	Cambodia	53.4
136	American Samoa	53
137	Benin	53
138	São Tomé and Príncipe	52.6
139	Venezuela	52.4
140	Nepal	52.2
141	Iraq	52
142	Tanzania	51.6
143	Zanzibar	51.4
144	Gabon	51.4
145	Mongolia	51.4
146	Marshall Islands	51.4
147	Nauru	51.4
148	Jamaica	51.4
149	Morocco	51.2
150	Paraguay	51.2
151	Gambia	51
152	Angola	50.6
153	Korea Republic	50.4
154	Uzbekistan	50.4
155	Cuba	50.4
156	Samoa	50.2
157	Tajikistan	50.2
158	Tonga	50.2
159	Micronesia	50
160	Zambia	50
161	Turkey	50
162	Guinea	50
163	Comoros	49.6
164	Malaysia	49.4
165	Equatorial Guinea	49.4
166	Fiji	49.2
167	Tunisia	49.2
168	Kenya	49.2
169	Tuvalu	49
170	Nicaragua	49
171	Bangladesh	49
172	Macau	49
173	Mexico	48.8
174	Saudi Arabia	48.4
175	Cameroon	48.2
176	South Africa	48.2
177	Chad	48
178	Ecuador	48
179	Laos	47.8
180	Mozambique	47.8
181	Jordan	47.8
182	Madagascar	47.6
183	Indonesia	47.4
184	Western Sahara	47
185	Guatemala	46.8
186	Bolivia	46.8
187	El Salvador	46.4
188	Solomon Islands	46.4
189	Guinea-Bissau	46.4
190	Ghana	46.2
191	Afghanistan	46.2
192	India	46
193	Thailand	45.8
194	Uganda	45.6
195	Botswana	45.4
196	United States	45.4
197	Myanmar	45.4
198	Zimbabwe	45.4
199	Rwanda	45.2
200	Sierra Leone	44.8
201	Philippines	44.6
202	Chinese Taipei	44.4
203	Pakistan	44.4
204	Sudan	44.4
205	Lebanon	44.4
206	Palestine	44.2
207	Timor-Leste	44.2
208	Ethiopia	43.6
209	Central African Republic	43.6
210	Malawi	43.4
211	Nigeria	43.4
212	Swaziland	43
213	Eritrea	41.8
214	Honduras	41.8
215	Liberia	41.8
216	Hong Kong	41.6
217	Haiti	41.4
218	Congo DR	41.2
219	Burundi	41.2
220	Papua New Guinea	41.2
221	Yemen	39.8
222	Vietnam	39.2
223	Somalia	38.8
224	Lesotho	38.6
225	Syria	38.2
226	Singapore	37.6
227	Korea DPR	35
228	South Sudan	34.8
229	China	34.8

How the Work-Life Balance Score Is Calculated

The overall score is an equally weighted average across five indicators. Nomadino calculates: work-life balance score = annual working hours × 0.20 + paid vacation days × 0.20 + happiness index × 0.20 + burnout risk × 0.20 + public holidays × 0.20.

Annual working hours: 20%
Paid vacation days: 20%
Happiness index: 20%
Burnout risk: 20%
Public holidays: 20%

Nomadino uses normalized indicator scores on a 0 to 100 scale, where higher means better conditions for everyday life, recovery and free time. Working hours, vacation days and public holidays describe formal time pressure. The happiness index and burnout risk add life satisfaction and mental strain.

All five indicators are weighted equally because work-life balance is not only about working hours. A country with short hours but little vacation or high strain should not automatically dominate. If an indicator is removed with the checkbox, Nomadino divides by the sum of the remaining weights, preserving the relative importance of the active indicators.