How PathWise Atlas ranks and scores
Transparency matters when you're making a life decision. Here is exactly how the comparisons on this site are produced.
The figures and rankings are compiled from a detailed, multi-sector comparative analysis assembled in June 2026, covering salaries, taxation, PR and citizenship pathways, tuition, cost of living, part-time work rules, minimum wages, passport strength, climate, safety, healthcare, work-life balance, visa wait times, upfront costs, university quality, post-graduation work visas, English-only viability, junior-developer demand, visa salary thresholds and transport.
Within each of the 26 sectors, the 10 countries are ordered from strongest to weakest for the specific profile this site targets: an international Computer Science student from Bangladesh who wants to study, work in tech, and settle. "Best" is defined relative to that goal — for example, lower cost is better in the cost-of-living sector, while higher pay is better in the salary sector.
Each country's overall PathWise Score (0–100) is a simple, equal-weighted average of its position across all sectors. A country ranked 1st in a sector earns the most points for that sector; last place earns the least. The scores are then normalised to a 0–100 scale.
The take-home calculator applies simplified effective-tax assumptions per country to your chosen gross salary. The Netherlands additionally models the 30% ruling by treating 30% of gross as tax-free. These are illustrative, not precise payroll calculations.
Rankings are inherently a snapshot and a simplification. Policies change, individual circumstances differ, and reasonable people can weight priorities differently. Treat PathWise Atlas as a starting point for your own research, and always confirm details with official sources as noted in our Disclaimer.