Best Muslim countries to live in (2027): compared on criteria you choose

People often search for the “best Muslim country to live in” and expect a ranked list with a winner. This page does something different. It puts 14 Muslim-majority countries side by side on seven criteria that each have a published source, and it lets you sort the table by the one that matters to you. The answer is different for a retired couple, a family with school-age children, and a remote worker, so this page does not give one.

Above this text you will find the interactive table, which is built from our open dataset. Below, we explain what each column measures, where it is weak, and what we found for each country.

Why there is no single best country

A country that is cheapest may not be the one with the largest English-speaking community. A country with the most open residence route may be one where schools take a long time to enrol a foreign child. Our table therefore:

• sorts by one criterion at a time and never combines them into a score;
• shows the unit and the source for each criterion, and says when a figure is missing instead of estimating it;
• does not say that one country is better than another.

The countries were chosen by the editorial team because they are Muslim-majority and not subject to broad international sanctions, and because we could source data for them. The choice is not an endorsement, and the safety section above shows where travel advice currently warns of regional tensions. Several more countries could be added in future.

Important: read the live travel advisory

Safety information changes quickly. On 12 November 2026 we read the UK FCDO’s travel advice for each of the 14 countries:

• Several Gulf countries (the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain) have no area listed as advised against, but each carries a “regional tensions” warning, updated on 27 October 2026, about strikes in the region and possible flight cancellations and airspace closures.
• For Saudi Arabia, the FCDO advises against all travel within 10 km of the Yemen border and against all but essential travel to the rest of the country (updated 27 October 2026). For that reason we do not publish a country page for Saudi Arabia and it appears in the table only for completeness.
• For Malaysia, Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan, the FCDO advises against travel to some named areas, not the whole country.
• For Indonesia, Brunei and Morocco we found no area advised against.

Readers must check the live advisory of their own government, and of the UK FCDO, before any decision. The table records only what was published when we read it.

How to use the table

1. Pick the criterion that matters most and click its column heading to sort. Click again to reverse the order.
2. Read the note under the criterion. Each one explains what the number measures and what it does not.
3. Look for blanks. A blank means the figure is not published for that country, or we could not verify it. It does not mean zero.
4. Add a second criterion by comparing two or three countries from the sorted list on a different column.
5. Move to the country page where one exists, for the full sourced detail on residence, schools, halal food and safety.

Countries with a full page on this site are the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Turkey, Morocco and Egypt. More pages will follow.

What each criterion measures, and its limits

Muslim share of population

Source: Pew Research Center, 2020 estimates. It shows the percentage of residents estimated to be Muslim. In the Gulf states, where a large share of residents are foreign workers of many faiths, it covers all residents, not only citizens. It says nothing about the practical availability of mosques, halal food or Islamic schools.

Global Peace Index rank

Source: Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Peace Index 2026 (published June 2026), the latest edition on the date we read it. A lower rank means a more peaceful country in the index (1 is the most peaceful). The index measures safety and security, domestic and international conflict and militarisation at national level, so it cannot describe a particular city. It also uses data up to a cut-off, so recent events may not be included. Brunei is not covered by the index.

Price level

Source: World Bank WDI. This is the ratio of the purchasing-power-parity conversion factor to the market exchange rate, which we calculated from the two World Bank series PA.NUS.PPP and PA.NUS.FCRF, using 2025 values (2024 for the UAE’s PPP factor). The ready-made series was not available to us on the day. A lower figure means lower general prices compared with the United States, which is 1.00. It is a whole-economy average. Rent in a capital city, international school fees and imported goods can be much higher than the average suggests.

GDP per capita, PPP

Source: World Bank, NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD, in current international dollars. It indicates the average income level of the economy. It is an average over all residents, including very small and resource-rich populations, and it does not tell you what a foreign worker earns.

English proficiency

Source: EF Education First, EF English Proficiency Index 2025. The index is based on test results from adults who chose to take the test, so it is not a measure of the whole population. Bahrain and Brunei do not appear in the 2025 index. A new edition is due on 18 November 2026.

Long-stay route

This column shows a 1 only where an official government page describing a long-stay route without a local employer was read on 12 November 2026. We verified the UAE’s Golden Visa, Malaysia’s MM2H programme, the Saudi Premium Residency portal and the Golden Visa listed on the Indonesian immigration directorate site. A blank means we have not verified an official page, not that no route exists. Amounts, eligibility and processing change frequently, so always read the official portal. This site does not tell you which visa to apply for.

UK FCDO travel advice level

Source: UK FCDO, read 12 November 2026. We use three levels: 0 when no area is advised against, 1 when the FCDO advises against travel to some areas, and 2 when it advises against all but essential travel to most or all of the country. The level is a single snapshot taken from one government’s advice, which reflects its own interests and its citizens, and it can change at short notice.

Short country profiles

Each profile below uses only the figures in the dataset, which are all sourced above. They are listed in the order of the dataset and carry no ranking.

United Arab Emirates (capital: Abu Dhabi). Pew estimates 72.9% of residents as Muslim in 2020. It is ranked 73rd in the Global Peace Index 2026, has a price-level ratio of 0.634 and a GDP per capita (PPP) of about 79,300 international dollars (2024), and its EF English score is 487. The government’s Golden Visa page describes long-stay categories. The FCDO lists no areas to avoid and carries a regional-tensions warning. See the country page.

Saudi Arabia (capital: Riyadh). Pew estimates 92.7% of residents as Muslim. It is ranked 95th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.468, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 73,800 international dollars and an EF score of 404. A Premium Residency portal exists. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to most of the country, so no country page is published.

Qatar (capital: Doha). Pew estimates 75.9% Muslim. It is ranked 31st in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.563, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 128,900 international dollars (the highest of the 14) and an EF score of 469. We have not verified an official long-stay route. A regional-tensions warning applies.

Oman (capital: Muscat). Pew estimates 81.8% Muslim. It is ranked 60th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.472, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 42,300 international dollars and an EF score of 407. We have not verified an official long-stay route on a government page. A regional-tensions warning applies.

Kuwait (capital: Kuwait City). Pew estimates 80.2% Muslim. It is ranked 49th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.572, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 56,500 international dollars and an EF score of 455. The FCDO also notes reduced flight schedules at Kuwait International Airport, and a regional-tensions warning applies.

Bahrain (capital: Manama). Pew estimates 74.0% Muslim. It is ranked 108th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.431 and GDP per capita (PPP) of about 71,000 international dollars. It is not in the EF 2025 index. A regional-tensions warning applies.

Malaysia (capital: Kuala Lumpur). Pew estimates 64.1% Muslim, the lowest share of the 14 but a majority. It is ranked 12th in the Global Peace Index 2026 (the highest of the 14), with a price-level ratio of 0.316, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 41,500 international dollars and an EF score of 581, the highest of those with a score. The MM2H programme and the DE Rantau pass are official long-stay routes. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to islands and dive sites off eastern Sabah only. See the country page.

Indonesia (capital: Jakarta). Pew estimates 87.0% Muslim. It is ranked 69th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.287 (the lowest after Egypt), GDP per capita (PPP) of about 17,700 international dollars and an EF score of 471. The immigration directorate lists a Golden Visa. The FCDO lists no area to avoid and mentions frequent volcanic eruptions.

Brunei (capital: Bandar Seri Begawan). Pew estimates 82.2% Muslim. The price-level ratio is 0.349 and GDP per capita (PPP) is about 92,400 international dollars. Brunei is not covered by the Global Peace Index or the EF index. The FCDO lists no area to avoid.

Turkey (capital: Ankara). Pew estimates 97.1% Muslim. It is ranked 136th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.411, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 45,300 international dollars and an EF score of 488. The FCDO advises against all travel within 10 km of the Syrian border. See the country page.

Morocco (capital: Rabat). Pew estimates 99.7% Muslim, the highest of the 14. It is ranked 65th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.421, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 11,100 international dollars and an EF score of 492. The FCDO lists no area to avoid. See the country page.

Tunisia (capital: Tunis). Pew estimates 99.3% Muslim. It is ranked 77th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.306, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 15,200 international dollars and an EF score of 498. The FCDO advises against travel to parts of western Tunisia and the Algerian border area.

Egypt (capital: Cairo). Pew estimates 95.2% Muslim. It is ranked 113th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.154 (the lowest of the 14), GDP per capita (PPP) of about 20,200 international dollars and an EF score of 459. The FCDO advises against travel to North Sinai, the Libyan border area and some other named areas. See the country page.

Jordan (capital: Amman). Pew estimates 97.1% Muslim. It is ranked 68th in the Global Peace Index 2026, with a price-level ratio of 0.423, GDP per capita (PPP) of about 12,600 international dollars and an EF score of 426. The FCDO advises against all travel within 3 km of the Syrian border.

Using the comparison in a real decision

A table can narrow a list but cannot make a choice. After using it:

• Read the full country page where one exists, and the 12-step roadmap for the practical sequence of a move.
• Visit before you decide, and test the things the table cannot show: the school, the mosque, the neighbourhood and the daily commute.
• Check the official immigration portal for the current rules. This page is information and not legal or immigration advice, and professional review of the visa and residence content on this site is in progress.
• Read the guide on what hijrah means for the history of the word and the range of scholarly views.

Data notes and corrections

All figures were read on 12 November 2026 and the dataset is updated when sources are updated. The full list of sources is above, and our method is set out on the methodology page. If you find an error, please let us know through the contact details on the site so that we can correct it and note the date of the change.