International Living Magazine, which is based in Baltimore, USA recently published Living’s 2012 Retirement Index. The index ranked top 19 countries for the best retirement havens. This index is published annually.
The index is calculated based on a vast range of data points, from the average humidity to the cost of a taxi. The index is also emphasise on living cost such as the prices for real estate, rentals, and utilities like water, electricity, and cable TV. The cost of groceries, eating out, even specific medical procedures are considered too. Finally, International Living also took into account what kind of discounts retirees can get on travel, taxes and entertainment.
In 2012 index, Malaysia score really well at rank number 4 behind Ecuador, Panama & Mexico. The table below is the top 19 country according to Living’s 2012 Retirement Index.
| Country | Real Estate | Special Benefits | Cost of Living | Integ ration | E&A | Hea lth | Infra | Clim ate | Final Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | 97 | 98 | 100 | 95 | 90 | 85 | 80 | 83 | 91.1 |
| Panama | 95 | 100 | 95 | 96 | 96 | 91 | 82 | 68 | 90.4 |
| Mexico | 94 | 91 | 88 | 96 | 96 | 88 | 75 | 89 | 89.6 |
| Malaysia | 94 | 79 | 95 | 95 | 96 | 87 | 91 | 66 | 87.7 |
| Colombia | 93 | 76 | 60 | 92 | 96 | 93 | 84 | 75 | 83.7 |
| New Zealand | 87 | 72 | 69 | 90 | 93 | 84 | 86 | 89 | 83.6 |
| Nicaragua | 92 | 79 | 94 | 89 | 85 | 78 | 63 | 70 | 82.6 |
| Spain | 79 | 68 | 78 | 90 | 93 | 76 | 94 | 81 | 82.1 |
| Thailand | 90 | 68 | 71 | 91 | 97 | 83 | 76 | 75 | 81.4 |
| Honduras | 82 | 89 | 76 | 95 | 96 | 78 | 67 | 63 | 80.7 |
| Uruguay | 91 | 76 | 81 | 87 | 57 | 81 | 83 | 87 | 80.4 |
| Italy | 69 | 74 | 60 | 71 | 98 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 80.3 |
| Brazil | 81 | 87 | 68 | 81 | 99 | 85 | 69 | 71 | 80.2 |
| Ireland | 70 | 90 | 57 | 99 | 91 | 70 | 85 | 79 | 80.2 |
| France | 68 | 75 | 57 | 82 | 100 | 90 | 88 | 90 | 80.1 |
| Costa Rica | 88 | 79 | 65 | 97 | 94 | 83 | 74 | 60 | 80 |
| Belize | 80 | 84 | 84 | 100 | 83 | 82 | 70 | 57 | 79.9 |
| Chile | 90 | 73 | 77 | 80 | 93 | 81 | 84 | 61 | 79.8 |
| Dom. Republic | 93 | 68 | 60 | 85 | 89 | 72 | 75 | 72 | 76.8 |
*E&A = Entertainment and Amenities, Infra = Infrastructure
Surprise to see not many develope countries in d list.
Yes, not many of them maybe due to high cost to live in develop countries.