Data Methodology
WhereNext algorithmically scores and ranks 95 countries across 7 dimensions using 15 authoritative data sources, eliminating subjective bias from your relocation decisions.
TL;DR
- • 7 dimensions (Cost, Safety, Healthcare, Education, Career, Lifestyle, Infrastructure) scored 0–100 using 15 institutional data sources.
- • Your priority sliders weight the dimensions. Same data, different rankings for different people.
- • Live data from World Bank, WHO, Open-Meteo, and others. Cached 24h. Confidence scores reflect data availability.
- • Visa adjustment: boost for matched pathways, penalty for difficult immigration.
- • No AI opinions: all scores are algorithmically derived from public institutional data.
Core Principles
- Live Sourcing: Data is actively fetched from official institutional APIs and cached for 24 hours. This ensures metrics reflect current objective trends, not outdated anecdotes.
- Normalization (0-100): Disparate metrics (GDP, temperature, homicide rates, PM2.5 levels) are harmonized to a 0-100 scale. Higher always means "better" according to standard quality-of-life frameworks.
- User-Weighted Determinism: Your ranking dynamically shifts based on the priority weights you set on the Find page. The same data produces different rankings for different people.
- Tiered Degradation: When real data is available, we use it. When partial data exists, we blend it with proxies. Confidence scores reflect how much real data backs each score.
The 7 Scoring Dimensions
Cost (Affordability)
How affordable is daily life?
- 1. Housing rent (1br city center)
- 2. PPP-adjusted rent & groceries indices
- 3. GDP per capita (fallback proxy)
- PPP 30% PPP adjustment using GDP PPP ratio
Safety
How safe and stable is the country?
- 22% Homicide rate per 100k (World Bank)
- 19% Political stability index (World Bank WGI)
- 25% Global Peace Index (IEP)
- 20% Governance: Rule of Law + Corruption Control (World Bank WGI)
- 14% Life expectancy proxy
Healthcare
Quality of health systems.
- 40% UHC service coverage index (WHO)
- 30% Physician density per 10,000 (WHO)
- 30% Life expectancy at birth (World Bank)
Education
Access to quality education.
- 35% OECD PISA scores (reading, math, science)
- 35% School life expectancy (years)
- 30% Tertiary enrollment ratio
- • Falls back to GDP proxy when data unavailable
Career
Economic opportunity and business environment.
- 30% Labor force participation (World Bank)
- 30% Local purchasing power
- 25% Inverse unemployment rate (World Bank)
- 15% Regulatory quality (World Bank WGI)
Lifestyle
Climate, language, visa access, social freedom, environment, and equality.
- 20% Climate comfort (temperature deviation)
- 20% Environmental performance (Yale EPI)
- 15% EF English Proficiency Index
- 15% Visa accessibility (citizenship-adjusted)
- 15% Social freedom (Voice & Accountability, WGI)
- 15% Income equality (Gini Index, World Bank)
Infrastructure
Digital and physical connectivity.
- 40% Internet users as % of population
- 30% Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people
- 30% GDP per capita (development proxy)
Data Sources
15 institutional data sources powering our scoring engine. All data is fetched live and cached for 24 hours.
The World Bank
18 indicators spanning economics, governance, safety, education, health, and infrastructure.
- ✓ GDP per capita (NY.GDP.PCAP.CD)
- ✓ GDP per capita, PPP (NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD)
- ✓ Homicide rate (VC.IHR.PSRC.P5)
- ✓ Political stability (PV.EST)
- ✓ Rule of Law (RL.EST) — Worldwide Governance Indicators
- ✓ Control of Corruption (CC.EST) — WGI
- ✓ Regulatory Quality (RQ.EST) — WGI
- ✓ Voice & Accountability (VA.EST) — WGI
- ✓ Gini Index (SI.POV.GINI) — income inequality
- ✓ School life expectancy (SE.SCH.LIFE)
- ✓ Tertiary enrollment (SE.TER.ENRR)
- ✓ Labor force participation (SL.TLF.ACTI.ZS)
- ✓ Internet users % (IT.NET.USER.ZS)
- ✓ Fixed broadband subscriptions (IT.NET.BBND.P2)
- ✓ Life expectancy, unemployment, inflation, population
Open-Meteo
High-resolution climate and hourly air quality data.
- ✓ Average historical temperature
- ✓ PM2.5 air quality index
- ✓ Annual precipitation volume
REST Countries & Exchange API
Country metadata, currencies, and real-time exchange rates.
- ✓ 250+ countries with ISO codes & regions
- ✓ 150+ currency exchange rates (CDN-served)
- ✓ Languages, timezones & population data
WHO Global Health Observatory
Healthcare quality indicators via GHO OData API.
- ✓ UHC service coverage index (UHC_INDEX_REPORTED)
- ✓ Physician density per 10,000 (HWF_0001)
- ✓ Nursing & midwifery density (HWF_0006)
UNDP HDI
Human Development Index for cross-validation and confidence scoring.
- ✓ Composite HDI score (2024 report, 2023 data)
- ✓ 90+ countries for confidence cross-validation
OECD PISA
International student assessment scores for education quality benchmarking.
- ✓ Combined reading, math, and science scores (2022)
- ✓ 80+ countries covered with regional estimates
EF English Proficiency Index
Quantitative English proficiency scores for 100+ countries.
- ✓ EPI score (0-100) blended into lifestyle dimension (15%)
- ✓ 2024 edition covering 113 countries
Global Peace Index
Macro-stability beyond crime statistics from the Institute for Economics & Peace.
- ✓ GPI score (1.0-3.5) normalized and blended into safety (25%)
- ✓ 2024 edition covering 163 countries
Yale Environmental Performance Index
Comprehensive environmental health and ecosystem vitality scores from Yale CELP.
- ✓ EPI score (0-100) covering air quality, water, biodiversity, climate
- ✓ 2024 edition covering 180 countries (95 used)
- ✓ Blended into lifestyle dimension at 20% weight
GeoDB Cities
City catalog with population and geographic coordinates.
- ✓ City population and coordinates
- ✓ 380 cities across 95 countries
Wikipedia
Country overview summaries for context.
- ✓ Country introduction text
- ✓ Contextual background data
Score Distribution
How do countries stack up across dimensions? This histogram shows the distribution of scores across all countries in our database, helping you understand where most countries cluster and where outliers exist.
Average
46
Median
47
Min
15
Max
63
Distribution of overall weighted scores across 95 countries using default weights
Confidence Scoring
Each country receives a dynamic confidence score reflecting how much real data backs its ranking. Confidence is domain-aware — it scales with the number of live data domains available, not just individual indicators.
Domain Coverage (5 domains checked)
Base Confidence
Scales from 45% (no domains) to 72% (all 5 domains). Additional indicator bonuses (education, career, air quality, broadband, HDI) add up to +18%.
Hard Caps
Maximum confidence is 92% with 3+ domains. Countries with fewer than 3 live domains are capped at 75% regardless of indicator bonuses.
Visa Feasibility
Rankings are adjusted by visa accessibility. If a country offers a visa pathway that matches your profile (e.g., digital nomad visa for remote workers), it receives a +15% boost. Countries without matching pathways receive a -10% adjustment.
Fallback Handling & Architecture
Every request passes through a central Orchestrator which parallelizes API requests with an 8-second timeout SLA. All responses are cached via Next.js for 24 hours.
If an upstream API goes offline, the DomainResolution fallback logic applies neutral proxy metrics and reduces the confidence score rather than crashing the interface.
Sensitivity Analysis
After ranking, WhereNext automatically perturbs your top 3 weight dimensions by +/-20% to test ranking stability. If a small change in priorities would reshuffle the top results, you'll see a sensitivity warning so you can investigate further before making a decision.
Methodology Version
v2.2 — Last updated February 2026
- v2.2 World Bank WGI governance indicators (rule of law, corruption, regulatory quality, voice & accountability); Yale EPI environmental scores; Gini inequality index; 15 institutional sources
- v2.1 Domain-aware confidence scoring with hard caps; fallback disclosure for proxy data
- v2.0 WHO ISO3 fix; 12 data sources; tiered degradation architecture
- v1.0 Initial scoring engine with 7 dimensions, World Bank + Open-Meteo live data
Limitations & Legal Notices
Important Notice
WhereNext provides data-driven insights for informational purposes only. Scores and rankings are algorithmically generated from public institutional data and may not reflect your individual circumstances. This tool does not replace professional advice for immigration, legal, tax, or financial matters.
Immigration Disclaimer
Visa requirements and immigration rules change frequently. This information is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Always verify current requirements with official government sources or a qualified immigration attorney before making decisions.
Financial Disclaimer
Tax rates, cost-of-living figures, and financial data shown are estimates based on public institutional sources. They do not constitute financial, tax, or investment advice. Consult a qualified tax professional or financial advisor familiar with cross-border regulations before making financial decisions.
See how this methodology ranks countries for you
Adjust the 7 dimension weights to match your priorities and get personalized rankings across 95 countries, powered by the data sources above.