Global Emigration Intelligence Dataset 2026 — wheretoemigrate.io

Global Emigration Intelligence Dataset 2026

**Publisher:** [wheretoemigrate.io](https://wheretoemigrate.io)

**DOI:** [To be assigned by Zenodo]

**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International)

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## Description

The Global Emigration Intelligence Dataset 2026 is a comprehensive, structured dataset covering emigration-relevant data for 26 countries. It includes:

- **55+ visa and immigration programs** with financial thresholds, processing times, quotas, and pathways to residency/citizenship

- **76+ cities** with cost-of-living breakdowns for singles and families, including rental benchmarks

- **Salary data for 10 professions** across 26 countries at three seniority levels (junior, mid, senior), with both gross and net figures

- **Quality-of-life indices** covering security, healthcare, transport, climate, internet speed, and English proficiency

This dataset is designed for researchers, journalists, migration policy analysts, data scientists, and anyone studying international mobility patterns.

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## Files

| File | Format | Records | Description |

|------|--------|---------|-------------|

| `visa-thresholds-global-2026.csv` | CSV | 44 | Visa program requirements: income thresholds, savings, language, education, processing times, quotas, and residency/citizenship pathways |

| `visa-thresholds-global-2026.json` | JSON | 44 | Same data as above in JSON array format |

| `cost-of-living-global-2026.csv` | CSV | 76 | City-level cost of living: monthly costs for singles and families, rental prices in center and periphery |

| `cost-of-living-global-2026.json` | JSON | 76 | Same data as above in JSON array format |

| `salary-by-profession-global-2026.csv` | CSV | 780 | Salary data by profession, country, and seniority level (gross and net annual EUR) |

| `salary-by-profession-global-2026.json` | JSON | 780 | Same data as above in JSON array format |

| `quality-of-life-global-2026.csv` | CSV | 26 | Quality-of-life scores: security, healthcare, transport, climate, internet speed, English proficiency |

| `quality-of-life-global-2026.json` | JSON | 26 | Same data as above in JSON array format |

| `data-dictionary.csv` | CSV | 35 | Field-level metadata for all datasets: data types, descriptions, units, and example values |

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## Countries Covered (26)

Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, United Kingdom, Uruguay

## Professions Covered (10)

Software Engineer, Nurse, Doctor, Civil Engineer, Accountant, Teacher, Project Manager, Electrician, Chef, Marketing Manager

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## Methodology

### Data Sources

- **Visa thresholds:** Official government immigration websites for each country, verified February 2026

- **Cost of living:** Numbeo (Feb 2026), Expatistan (2026), Wise cost-of-living guide (2025), GlobalPropertyGuide (2026)

- **Salaries:** Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, Payscale, Robert Half Salary Guides, local government labor statistics (2025-2026)

- **Quality of life:** Global Peace Index 2025, WHO/Bloomberg Health Index, EF English Proficiency Index 2025, Speedtest Global Index 2025

### Collection Period

Q4 2025 through Q1 2026. All records verified as of February 21, 2026.

### Currency

All monetary values are expressed in EUR. Exchange rates used (as of February 2026):

| Currency | Rate to EUR |

|----------|-------------|

| 1 USD | 0.92 EUR |

| 1 GBP | 1.17 EUR |

| 1 AUD | 0.60 EUR |

| 1 CAD | 0.67 EUR |

| 1 CHF | 1.05 EUR |

| 1 NZD | 0.55 EUR |

| 1 SGD | 0.69 EUR |

| 1 AED | 0.25 EUR |

| 1 JPY | 0.0061 EUR |

| 1 KRW | 0.00069 EUR |

| 1 SEK | 0.088 EUR |

| 1 DKK | 0.134 EUR |

| 1 CZK | 0.040 EUR |

| 1 THB | 0.026 EUR |

| 1 MXN | 0.046 EUR |

| 1 CLP | 0.00097 EUR |

| 1 MYR | 0.21 EUR |

| 1 CRC | 0.0018 EUR |

| 1 UYU | 0.022 EUR |

### Quality-of-Life Scoring

All scores use a 0-10 scale (higher is better). The global composite score is weighted as follows:

| Dimension | Weight |

|-----------|--------|

| Security | 25% |

| Healthcare | 25% |

| Transport | 20% |

| Climate | 15% |

| General livability | 15% |

### Null Values

- In CSV files, null/not-applicable values are represented as empty cells

- In JSON files, null/not-applicable values are represented as empty strings (`""`)

- Null values in `quota_annual` indicate uncapped programs

- Null values in `path_to_pr_years` or `path_to_citizenship_years` indicate no pathway exists under that visa category

- Null values in `min_income_eur` or `min_savings_eur` indicate the program has no such requirement

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## Citation

If you use this dataset in your research or publication, please cite it as:

> Where to Emigrate Research Team (2026). Global Emigration Intelligence Dataset 2026. wheretoemigrate.io. https://wheretoemigrate.io/research/datasets

### BibTeX

```bibtex

@dataset{wheretoemigrate2026,

author = {{Where to Emigrate Research Team}},

title = {Global Emigration Intelligence Dataset 2026},

year = {2026},

publisher = {wheretoemigrate.io},

url = {https://wheretoemigrate.io/research/datasets},

note = {Licensed under CC BY 4.0}

}

```

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## Contact

For questions, corrections, or collaboration inquiries:

- **Email:** [e-mail]

- **Website:** [wheretoemigrate.io](https://wheretoemigrate.io)

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## Changelog

- **v1.0 (2026-02-22):** Initial release covering 26 countries, 44 visa programs, 76 cities, 10 professions, and quality-of-life indices.