How WorldMatch works
WorldMatch compares the measurable features of 50 countries with the preferences you give, and ranks them. Scoring version wm-1.
The seven dimensions
| Dimension | Default weight | How it is scored (0 to 100) |
|---|---|---|
| Climate | 15% | Average temperature in the main city against the band you chose (full marks within 2.5°C), and the seasonal pattern you prefer from the coldest and warmest months. Very hot summers count against you unless you chose hot. |
| Affordability | 20% | Your monthly budget, converted to US dollars at today's rates and adjusted for local prices, compared with what an average resident spends per person, sized to your household (first adult 1, other adults 0.5, children 0.3). 1.6 times or more scores 100; the same as an average resident scores 70. |
| Career | 15% | Income per person (log scale), unemployment and government effectiveness, mixed according to what you said matters most at work. |
| Safety | 15% | Intentional homicide rate (log scale, 60%) and political stability (40%). |
| Lifestyle | 15% | How urban the country is, against the setting, social life and pace you chose; how well public transport fits how you want to get around; and, if you chose, public services or lower taxes. |
| Nature | 10% | Forest cover (30%), clean air from fine-particle pollution (45%), and whether coast or mountains are there (25%). |
| Language | 10% | How far English gets you (official, widely spoken, some, limited), lifted to full marks if you speak a main language, and softened by how willing you are to learn. |
How your answers change the weights
- Your three non-negotiables are multiplied by 1.6. A country scoring under 60 on one of them loses up to 40% of its total, in proportion to the shortfall.
- Nature, safety, career and language weights move with how much you said they matter, whether you would trade salary for time, how comfortable you are adapting, and why you are moving (for example, career counts much less if you are retiring).
- Moving with children raises the weight of safety.
- All weights are then rescaled to add up to 100%, and no dimension may exceed 35%.
Missing data and confidence
A missing figure is treated as unknown, never as zero. A country's total is the weighted average of the dimensions we can score, shrunk slightly when some are missing, and each result shows a data-confidence level: high when at least 95% of your weights could be scored, medium from 80%, low below that. Ties are broken by data coverage, then alphabetically by country code, so the same answers always give the same ranking.
What it is not
- The match percentage is not a probability of happiness or success; it measures fit with your stated preferences.
- Lifestyle scores never use your nationality. Reality Mode adds practical notes (savings, language, qualifications, family, and visit rules for Pakistani passports from our own data), but it is not a visa eligibility check. Only official immigration authorities can decide that.
- National figures hide large differences between cities and regions, and published data is usually one to three years old.
Data sources
| Indicator | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GDP per person (PPP) | international $ | World Bank WDI |
| Household consumption (PPP, total) | international $ | World Bank WDI |
| Population | people | World Bank WDI |
| PPP conversion factor, private consumption | local currency per international $ | World Bank WDI |
| Official exchange rate | local currency per US$ | World Bank WDI |
| Unemployment | % of labour force | World Bank WDI (ILO estimate) |
| Intentional homicides | per 100,000 people | World Bank WDI (UNODC) |
| Political stability and absence of violence | score, -2.5 to 2.5 | Worldwide Governance Indicators |
| Government effectiveness (public services) | score, -2.5 to 2.5 | Worldwide Governance Indicators |
| Life expectancy at birth | years | World Bank WDI |
| Health spending per person | US$ per person | World Bank WDI (WHO) |
| Tax revenue | % of GDP | World Bank WDI (IMF) |
| People living in cities and towns | % of population | World Bank WDI (UN) |
| Forest area | % of land | World Bank WDI (FAO) |
| Fine-particle air pollution (PM2.5) | µg/m³, annual mean | World Bank WDI |
| Price level of household goods and services | ratio, United States = 1 | Calculated: PPP conversion factor (private consumption) / official exchange rate, World Bank WDI |
| Average household spending per person | international $ per person per month | Calculated: household consumption (PPP) / population / 12, World Bank WDI |
| Average temperature, whole country 1991-2020 | °C | World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal (CRU TS 4.08, 1991-2020) |
| Average temperature, main city | °C | NASA POWER climatology, main city |
| Coldest month average, main city | °C | NASA POWER climatology, main city |
| Warmest month average, main city | °C | NASA POWER climatology, main city |
| Rainfall, main city | mm per year | NASA POWER climatology, main city |
World Bank data is licensed CC BY 4.0. NASA POWER data is provided by the NASA Langley Research Center POWER Project. Country photos are from Wikimedia Commons under the licence shown with each photo. Languages, English use, public transport, coast and mountains are Dareecha's editorial notes. Data last refreshed 2 November 2026; we refresh it at least once a year.
Privacy
- Your answers are saved only in your own browser, so you can close the page and continue later. Starting over clears them.
- To calculate matches, your answers are sent to our server, used once and not stored or logged.
- If you share a result, we store only your five countries, their match scores and the strengths shown, under a random link. Your answers, budget, nationality and family details are never stored or shown. You can delete a shared page from "Your past results" on the same device; shared pages are deleted automatically after 365 days.
- We count anonymous totals (quizzes completed, results shared) to improve the tool. Analytics events never include your answers.
