France takes the crown for best place for freelancers to live. Where else is proving popular?
A study carried out by Tipalti revealed the top ten countries to live as a freelancer based on broadband price, mobile speed, the expense of monthly living costs, and the rate of self-employment.
France is the best country worldwide to work as a freelancer, according to its research, with a highly impressive score of 10 out of 10.
The freelancer hotspot scored highly for its low average broadband prices (£24.2 monthly) as well as its broadband speeds, which were among the fastest of all countries (214.0Mbps).
Self-employed workers accounted for 13% of the country’s population, and 662,500 Google searches were recorded for freelancer work in the last twelve months.
Top 10 best countries to live as a freelancer
| Rank | Country | Self Employment Rate – % of employment, 2021 | Cost of Living (Monthly £) | Number of Coworking Spaces per 100,000 | Average broadband Speed (Mbps) | Average broadband price (Monthly £) | mobile speeds | Annual Searches (Feb 2022-Jan 2023) | Freelancer Score |
| 1 | France | 13 | £1,273.30 | 1.0 | 214.0 | £24.2 | 86.51 | 662,500 | 10.00 |
| 2 | Spain | 16 | £1,056.20 | 2.1 | 201.5 | £29.3 | 61.62 | 306,700 | 9.62 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 15 | £2,093.11 | 3.2 | 230.0 | £53.4 | 135.70 | 63,000 | 8.85 |
| 4 | Chile | 25 | £758.62 | 0.8 | 217.6 | £25.7 | 21.23 | 129,800 | 8.85 |
| 5 | Portugal | 15 | £870.10 | 2.9 | 162.6 | £32.1 | 59.91 | 86,700 | 8.46 |
| 6 | Brazil | 33 | £503.79 | 0.2 | 113.1 | £22.1 | 33.92 | 1,806,000 | 8.08 |
| 7 | Colombia | 53 | £481.16 | 0.5 | 72.2 | £17.4 | 18.33 | 395,100 | 7.69 |
| 8 | Poland | 20 | £739.34 | 0.6 | 156.3 | £14.4 | 57.23 | 194,900 | 6.92 |
| 9 | Mexico | 32 | £568.33 | 0.5 | 54.9 | £14.9 | 34.33 | 525,600 | 6.92 |
| 10 | Lithuania | 12 | £728.44 | 1.9 | 147.1 | £9.3 | 66.25 | 17,400 | 6.15 |
Spain is the second-best country for freelancers. Spain scored 9.63 out of 10 for freelancers. Spain has a low cost of living at £1,056.20 a month and offers some of the highest broadband speeds (201.5Mbps). The country is also accommodating to flexible workers, with 984 co-working spaces (2.1 per 100,000).
Switzerland is the third-best country for freelancers. Switzerland scored 9.26 out of 10 overall. The country offers 277 flexible working spaces (3.2 per 100,000) and offers the fastest broadband speeds out of any other OECD country (230Mbps), as well as great mobile speeds (135.70 Mbps). However, it’s not cheap compared to other countries with a monthly cost of living average of £2,093.11.
However, The Freelance Informer has heard from one UK freelancer that foreign freelancers may have a hard time getting hired due to strict nationalist hiring practices with a preference for locals. However, it is possible. The Swiss website, I am Expat, spells out some basic rules of becoming a freelancer in Switzerland by setting up your own company.
Which country has the most self-employed?
In first place for the highest self-employment rate in the world is Columbia. Columbia received an overall freelancer score of 7.69, with 53% of the population being self-employed. The monthly cost of living is £481.16, making it the lowest on the list.
If you’d like to explore more into what makes Colombia tick (and highly fun) as a destination for freelancers and digital nomads, then check out this guide here.
Is the country you’d really like to live in not on the top 10 list? Check out a longer list of the best places to live as a freelancer here.
