Best countries for remote work 2023: Spain surprises

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the supposed ideal destinations for remote work have not stopped growing. Classifications have been made of several types: job search, by landscape, by facilities, by financial situation…

Now, NordLayer, which sells software to remote companies, has developed a new platform, where Spain emerges as a prominent fourth destination for remote workers.

NordLayer has taken into account living conditions, cybersecurity, and how each country has managed the pandemic, among other criteria.

European countries occupy 8 of the top 10 positions in the ranking

To do this, he developed a Global telework indexwhere European countries feature strongly, with Germany, Denmark, the United States, Spain and Lithuania in the top five.

Slovakia and Lithuania lead the cyber security rankingswhile South Korea and Singapore lead the digital and physical infrastructure rankings.

South Korea has the fastest internet, while in Israel it is the least expensive.

The index was developed by assessing and comparing countries based on four dimensions. Together, they combine several attributes that are believed to help gauge the overall attractiveness of remote working:

1. Cyber ​​security: Infrastructure, response and legal measures.

2- Economic and Social Conditions: Security, Tourist Attractions, English Language Proficiency, Cost of Living and Health Care.

3 – Digital and physical infrastructure: Internet quality, affordability, e-infrastructure, e-governance, physical infrastructure, and co-working spaces.

4 – Response to COVID-19: Vaccination and response rates.

Spain, a destination for remote workers

Spain, for its part, appears in the top ten in cybersecurity, economic and social conditions, and response to the pandemic. The department in which it falls the most, to the 19th position, is the Digital Infrastructure department.

Since the beginning of this new reality, Spain and certain cities such as Málaga or Mallorca have attracted a large number of foreign remote workers, which has also caused a B-side in the form of High prices and rents in some cases.

Small European Union countries dominate the category of cyber security

Countries get different results in each category. The cyber security category is dominated by smaller European countries such as Slovakia, the Baltic states, Lithuania, Estonia, and Greece.

Canada, the United Kingdom, Portugal, the United States and Germany, respectively, are the five countries most suitable for telecommuting in terms of economic and social conditions.. However, countries’ levels of wealth do not guarantee cyber security. Although countries such as Malta, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates rank relatively high in terms of economic and social conditions, they face higher cybersecurity risks than other countries with similar economic and social conditions.

The index shows that remote workers wanting to find a cheaper place to relocate will have to compromise on things like public security or the level of English spoken in the country.