Cheapest Country to Live in Europe: 4 Picks for Americans

Let me save you some time: the single cheapest country in Europe is somewhere like Albania, Bulgaria or Romania.

I’ll point you to those near the end. This guide covers four others, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia and Malta, and they share something the cheapest places often lack. All four use the euro and sit inside the Schengen Area, and all four now have a clear route for an American who works remotely.

These four are the cheapest countries in Europe that are also realistic for an American.

I made a video on the best countries for Americans to move abroad, and these four are the European ones from that list. If you want the quick version first, watch it, and the sections below go deeper on the four European picks.

A few ground rules before the numbers. Every price and rule below comes from public guides and government-linked pages as of October 2026, and visa thresholds change every year, often in January. Confirm anything you’re about to act on with the official immigration site, and check immigration and tax questions with a professional, because this is general information only.

The quick answer: which of the four is cheapest?

On cost of living alone, Portugal and Croatia are neck and neck, Slovenia sits a little higher, and Malta is the most expensive of the four. The gap between the cheapest and the priciest is smaller than most people expect, and your choice of city matters more than your choice of country.

Every figure below is a range from published guides, so treat it as a starting point.

My ranking, from cheapest to most expensive: Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Malta. Portugal and Croatia could swap places depending on the city you pick, and I’ll explain why in each section.

How I compared them

I pulled monthly budgets from several guides for each country, then compared them against one cost-of-living database that puts all four on the same scale. In that dataset, a single person’s monthly cost comes out at about $1,410 in Croatia, $1,452 in Portugal, $1,513 in Slovenia and $1,725 in Malta. Malta ran about 14% higher than Slovenia in the same comparison.

Different guides disagree by a few hundred euros, and that’s normal. Cost data is soft. A budget built around a Lisbon one-bedroom looks nothing like one built around a small town in the Alentejo.

I kept two things separate on purpose: what it costs to live in each country, and what you need to earn to get a visa. Those two numbers don’t match, and that mismatch is the most important thing in this guide.

Living costs and visa income are two different numbers

Here’s the catch. The remote-work permits in all four countries ask you to earn far more than you’d spend.

A single person can live in Portugal or Croatia on roughly €1,400 to €1,900 a month. Yet the nomad permits want proof of income of about €3,100 to €3,700 a month. Remote-work income is the test, and the permit officers look at what you earn.

That has a practical consequence. If you earn $5,000 a month remotely, all four countries are open to you, and you’ll live well on a fraction of it. If you earn $2,500 a month, the remote-work permits won’t work, and you’ll need a different route, such as retirement income or a local job.

Retirees get the best deal in this group. Portugal’s D7 visa is built for passive income, including pensions, and Social Security counts. The nomad permits in Croatia, Slovenia and Malta require active remote work income, so they don’t fit someone who’s simply retired.

1. Portugal

Portugal is the one I’d look at first if you want the widest range of choices. It has big cities, small towns, a long coast and a quiet interior, and prices swing wildly between them.

What it costs

A single person living modestly outside Lisbon and Porto can manage on roughly €1,400 to €1,800 a month, rent included. In smaller cities such as Braga, Coimbra or Setúbal, a one-bedroom apartment runs about €600 to €900.

Central Lisbon is a different story, with one-bedrooms commonly running €1,200 to €1,800 in 2026. Another guide puts the all-in budget for a single person in Lisbon at around €1,767 a month when rent averages closer to €930, so the exact number depends on what you count.

Groceries come out around €300 a month in that guide. International Living says a couple can live comfortably on $2,500 to $3,000 a month outside the major cities, and that rents in the interior can start from about $450 for an older furnished two-bedroom.

My take: the interior and the smaller cities are where Portugal earns its reputation as one of the cheapest places in Western Europe. Lisbon and the Algarve are not cheap, and the prices keep climbing.

The visa routes for Americans

Portugal has two main routes, and which one you use depends on how you earn money.

The D8 visa (digital nomad) is for remote workers. You need active income from outside Portugal of at least four times Portugal’s minimum wage. Most guides put that at €3,680 a month in 2026, based on a €920 minimum wage, though one guide lists a lower figure, so check with your consulate.

You also need health insurance valid in Portugal (minimum coverage €30,000) and proof of accommodation, and the income threshold rises by 50% for a spouse and 30% for each child. There is a temporary-stay version and a longer residence version. Savings can back up your application, and you still need proof of active remote-work income.

The D7 visa is for passive income. It’s the one retirees use, and it covers Social Security, pensions, dividends and rental income. The income bar is roughly Portugal’s monthly minimum wage for the main applicant, with extra amounts for each family member, so confirm the current figure on the consulate’s page before you plan around it.

Americans apply through the Portuguese consulate that covers their US state of residence, and requirements can vary a little between consulates, so ask yours directly.

What to know before you commit

Portugal approved revisions to its nationality law in 2026 that may affect people hoping to naturalize through a D8 or similar residence route. Don’t rely on old citizenship timelines you read in older blog posts or videos, and check the current rules.

Don’t assume today’s rents will hold. Prices in Lisbon and Porto have climbed, so if you plan to live in either one, take the higher end of every budget range above.

Who it suits

Portugal suits remote workers who earn above the D8 threshold, and it suits retirees with a steady pension or Social Security. It also suits anyone who wants a real choice of lifestyle, from a city apartment to a small village.

It’s the cheapest of the four if you choose your town carefully. Choose Lisbon, and Croatia can come out cheaper.

2. Croatia

Croatia is the best pick here if you want the Adriatic coast and a permit that’s easy to understand. It joined the euro and the Schengen Area in 2023, so day-to-day life is simple for an American. Prices look low until you land in a tourist town in July.

What it costs

One expat guide puts a single person’s budget at €1,350 to €1,900 a month, including rent, and a family of four at about €2,800 to €3,700. Another writer who lives there reckons a single person renting in Zagreb or Split should plan on €1,600 to €1,900 a month for a comfortable but moderate life, and €1,800 to €2,000 for a more relaxed one.

Rent swings by place. A central one-bedroom in Zagreb falls roughly between €400 and €800, and in Dubrovnik it can easily cost €700 to €1,200, with Split in between. In smaller towns and rural areas, it can go for €250 to €400.

Food for a single person comes out around €450 to €500 a month in the second guide, and utilities can swing a lot with the season, since winter needs heating and summer needs air conditioning.

My take: Croatia is the cheapest of the four if you skip the famous coastal towns. Zagreb and the small inland and island towns are where the numbers work.

The nomad permit

Croatia’s digital nomad route is a temporary residence permit for people who work remotely for a company outside Croatia. A few facts matter most.

• Income: €3,622.50 a month in 2026, which is 2.5 times Croatia’s average net salary for the previous year. It was €3,295 in 2025, so the bar went up.
• Length: up to 18 months, according to recent guides. Older sources say 12 months, so check.
• Tax: the permit exempts qualifying foreign-sourced income from Croatian income tax for as long as it lasts. You still file with the IRS as an American.
• The cooldown: after the permit ends, you generally have to wait six months before getting another. Time on the permit doesn’t count toward permanent residence or citizenship.

Americans can enter visa-free and apply in person at a police station while legally in Croatia. The permit doesn’t give you the right to live or work in the rest of the Schengen Area.

What to know before you commit

The main thing is that this permit is temporary by design. It’s a great way to live in Croatia for a year or so, and it leads nowhere permanent. If you want to stay long term, you’ll need a different type of residence permit after it ends, and the tax exemption stops once you switch.

One guide also notes the permit isn’t treated as residence for tax-treaty purposes, which can complicate claims with your home country. That’s a question for an expat tax professional.

Who it suits

Croatia suits remote workers who want a year or so on the coast, with a tax break from Croatia and no commitment. It doesn’t suit retirees, because the permit requires remote work income, and it doesn’t suit anyone who wants a permanent move.

If you want a taste of the Balkans before committing to anywhere, Croatia is also the easiest to try. You can visit for up to 90 days without any visa at all.

3. Slovenia

Slovenia is the quiet one. It’s small and tidy, with a compact capital in Ljubljana and the Alps within easy reach. It’s also the newest on this list when it comes to remote-work visas.

What it costs

The cost picture depends on the source, and they don’t agree. One database puts a single person’s monthly cost at about $1,513, with rent around $853, and a one-bedroom downtown at roughly $776. A different EU-wide comparison lists a single person’s living costs near €815 before rent, with a one-bedroom in the city at about €707 a month and a total of around €1,760 including utilities.

Utilities are one place Slovenia costs more than its neighbors. Heating drives the bills up in winter, and the database above lists a single person’s utilities near $180 a month, against about $61 in Malta.

My take: Slovenia is a little more expensive than Croatia or Portugal, and a little cheaper than Malta. The gap in rent is small. The gap in quality of life, if you like clean air, quiet streets and mountains, may be worth the difference.

The digital nomad permit

Slovenia is the new kid. Since 21 November 2025, non-EU remote workers can apply for a dedicated temporary residence permit for digital nomads. Before that, you had to stack tourist stays.

The details, as of the guides I read:

• Income: about twice Slovenia’s average net monthly salary. Guides put that anywhere from roughly €3,100 to €3,400 a month, because the figure gets recalculated as the national average moves.
• Length: up to one year, and one law firm says it can’t be extended. If you want to stay longer, you can apply for another type of residence permit, for example through local employment or a business.
• Work: all your income has to come from outside Slovenia. A single Slovenian client can make you ineligible.
• Family: family members can join you without the usual waiting periods.

Americans can visit Slovenia visa-free for up to 90 days. Check the official government page to see whether you apply from abroad or after you arrive, since the rules are new and the guides don’t all agree.

The tax catch

A Slovenian law firm’s summary lays out the tax rule clearly. If you stay in Slovenia for more than 183 days in a tax year, or your habitual residence or main personal and economic interests are there, you can become a Slovenian tax resident, taxed on worldwide income.

If you live there on the permit but remain a tax resident of your home country and don’t pass those tests, you have no Slovenian tax obligations. A one-year permit can easily pass 183 days, so talk to a tax professional before you settle in for the whole year.

What to know before you commit

The permit is new, the thresholds are a moving target and not every guide is up to date. A few older pages still say Slovenia has no digital nomad permit at all, which is wrong as of this writing.

It’s also small. If you want big-city energy, Ljubljana can feel quiet within a month. One guide to Ljubljana describes an active international community of more than 1,500 members, and it cites a 2026 peace ranking that puts Slovenia among the safest countries in the world.

Who it suits

Slovenia suits remote workers who want safety and calm, and who can afford the higher end of the income range. It doesn’t suit retirees, since the permit needs remote work income, and it doesn’t suit anyone who wants a long-term plan, because the permit lasts a single year.

4. Malta

Malta is the most expensive of the four, and it’s the easiest for an English speaker. English is an official language, the islands are small and sunny, and the nomad permit has a tax break that’s hard to match.

What it costs

One expat guide says a single person needs about €1,450 to €2,250 a month in 2026, rent included, with a couple at €2,250 to €3,400. Another puts a typical single person near €1,600 a month, and a third lists rent as a separate €800 or more.

Rent depends on where you land: in central towns like Mosta or Birkirkara, a one-bedroom runs roughly €650 to €950. In Gzira or Msida it’s €750 to €1,200, and in Sliema and St Julian’s it’s €1,000 to €1,600. That’s a wide spread, and the cheaper towns are where the numbers work.

Utilities are the bright spot. The database I mentioned earlier puts a single person’s bills in Malta at about $61 a month, far below Slovenia.

My take: Malta costs more than the other three, mostly because of rent. It’s still cheaper than much of Western and Northern Europe, and a one-bedroom outside the tourist towns can come in under €900.

The Nomad Residence Permit

Malta’s remote-work permit is officially the Nomad Residence Permit, issued by the Residency Malta Agency. The basics, per several 2026 guides:

• Income: €42,000 a year gross, or €3,500 a month. That rose from €32,400 for applications filed before 1 April 2024, and old guides still quote the lower figure.
• Fee: about €300.
• Length: one year, renewable. One guide says the permit can be renewed up to three times, for a maximum of four years in total. To renew, you need to have spent at least five months in Malta over the previous year.
• Work: your income must come from remote work for employers or clients outside Malta. Passive income doesn’t count, and you can’t work for Maltese companies.

The tax deal

This is Malta’s headline. According to the guides, qualifying work income is exempt from Maltese income tax for the first 12 months, then taxed at a flat 10% rate, compared with ordinary rates that go up to 35%. Guidance from the tax authority in January 2026 tightened the reporting requirements and left the rates alone.

You still file with the IRS as an American. Whether you owe US tax on that income depends on your situation, and that’s a conversation for a tax professional who knows expat filings.

Malta also has other programs for wealthier applicants. The Global Residence Programme, for example, asks you to buy property worth at least €275,000, or rent for at least €9,600 a year, in exchange for a flat 15% tax on foreign income remitted to Malta. That one doesn’t suit most budgets in this guide.

What to know before you commit

The nomad permit doesn’t lead to long-term residence. One site that tracks these programs lists the permit as having no route to permanent residency, so treat it as a temporary base.

It’s also an island. It’s small, it’s crowded in summer and nothing is far away, which some people love and others find cramped after a few months.

Who it suits

Malta suits remote workers who want English and the tax break, and who earn comfortably above €3,500 a month. It’s the choice if you value easy daily life over the lowest rent.

It’s not the cheapest, and it doesn’t work for retirees without remote work income.

What a real month looks like in each country

Ranges are useful, and sample budgets are better.

In Portugal, one guide builds a single person’s month from €931 in rent and €300 in groceries, plus about €542 in other everyday costs, which comes to roughly €1,773. That rent figure is for a city-center one-bedroom, so a small city or the interior brings the total down by several hundred euros.

In Croatia, a writer based there puts rent at €500 to €650 for a studio or €650 to €850 for a one-bedroom, plus food at €450 to €500 and utilities around €220 once heating and air conditioning are counted. That lands near €1,600 to €1,900 in Zagreb or Split, and a smaller inland town can drop it toward €1,350.

In Slovenia, the EU cost comparison I mentioned lists a single person’s living costs around €815, a city one-bedroom near €707 and utilities close to €239, which totals about €1,760 a month. Utilities stand out, because winter heating costs more than in the warmer countries here.

In Malta, the expat guide lists a sample rent of €900 for a single person, with everything else bringing the total to somewhere between €1,450 and €2,250. The same guide says that from €1,800 a month, you can have your own one-bedroom near the sea and eat out weekly, with money left over for weekend trips.

Put those together and the pattern is clear. Rent is the biggest line in every country, and it’s the one you control most by picking a town. Food and utilities move far less.

How far does a remote paycheck go?

Take a remote paycheck of €3,600 a month from a US employer or clients; that clears the income bar in most of these countries. A single person living on €1,400 to €1,900, rent included, spends roughly half of that.

That leaves something like €1,700 to €2,200 a month before taxes and insurance, and those two items will take a real bite. But even after them, the gap between what you earn and what you spend is wider than it would be in most US cities.

It’s an illustration, and a rough one. Your tax bill depends on your situation, your insurance depends on your age, and your rent depends on the town you choose. But it shows why people with remote income keep looking at this part of Europe.

If your income sits right at the threshold, the picture is tighter. You’ll qualify for the permit, and you’ll have little room for surprises. In that case, pick the cheaper town and keep a cash cushion for the first few months.

Healthcare and insurance

Health coverage is a requirement for every permit in this guide, so budget for it.

Portugal’s D8 asks for health insurance valid in Portugal, with a minimum coverage of €30,000. Croatia asks for private or travel health insurance that’s valid for the whole stay and covers Croatian territory. Slovenia asks for a policy that covers emergency medical costs for the full stay, and Malta lists health insurance as a requirement too.

Premiums depend on your age and health, and I haven’t seen a reliable range I’d trust enough to quote. Get quotes from two or three international insurers before you build a final budget, and check what the policy covers for pre-existing conditions.

One more point for older readers. Original Medicare generally doesn’t pay for care outside the United States, so don’t count on it abroad. Check your own plan’s rules, because they vary, and ask an insurer about a policy that covers you in your new country.

One-off costs to budget for

Monthly costs get all the attention, and the upfront ones can sting more.

Application fees are small compared with the rest. Malta’s Nomad Residence Permit has a fee of about €300, and Slovenia’s residence permit card costs roughly €50, according to the guides I read. Croatia’s fee is also modest, though sources disagree on the exact amount, so check the current figure.

The bigger costs sit around the edges: flights, shipping or storing your belongings, a deposit on your first rental and a month or two of overlap while you search for a home. Several guides also mention paying for translations or certified copies of your documents, and some people hire a local lawyer to handle the filing.

I haven’t seen reliable numbers for those, so I won’t invent them. A rough rule I’d use: set aside at least two or three months of living costs as a cushion before you go. It’s a rule of thumb with no source behind it, and it covers the delays that happen to almost everyone.

The 90-day rule, EES and ETIAS

You don’t need a visa to visit any of these four as an American. You can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen Area, and all four countries are part of it.

Two systems have changed things at the border. The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational at external borders on 10 April 2026, so fingerprints and a photo are collected on arrival, and your 90 days are tracked automatically.

ETIAS is the travel authorization that Americans will need later, with a fee of €20 once it starts. As of late September 2026, the official ETIAS website gave no launch date, so Americans can still enter without it. The 90/180 rule itself hasn’t changed.

That matters for planning. If you plan to try a country before applying for a permit, track your days carefully. A month in Portugal, a month in Croatia and a month in Malta all draw from the same 90-day pool.

US taxes and money: the part people forget

Moving abroad doesn’t end your US tax obligations. As an American citizen, you still report worldwide income on Form 1040 wherever you live.

A few basics worth knowing, from one expat tax firm’s guide:

• Foreign earned income exclusion: for the 2025 tax year, you may qualify to exclude up to $130,000 of foreign earned income, if you meet the tests. The amount adjusts each year.
• FBAR: you may need to file a report on foreign accounts if their combined balance goes above $10,000 at any point in the year.
• Local rules: each country adds its own tax rules on top. Croatia, Malta and Slovenia each treat nomad income differently, as covered above.

I’m not a tax professional, and this area punishes mistakes. Before you move, book an hour with an expat tax accountant. It’s cheaper than finding out later.

Also set up banking before you land. A US bank account that works abroad, and a local account once you have residence, will save you a lot of friction.

A sensible order of operations

Every country above has its own process, and the details change each year. The order of the steps is similar everywhere, and it saves a lot of wasted effort.

Start with your income type. Work out whether your money counts as active remote income, which the nomad permits want, or passive income like a pension, which Portugal’s D7 accepts. That one answer rules two or three of these routes in or out before you spend anything.

Check the current threshold on the official site. Thresholds in Portugal, Croatia and Malta all moved in recent years, and guides lag behind.

Gather your proof. Guides for all four countries mention bank statements that show steady income and valid health insurance, and Portugal also wants proof of accommodation. Some consulates ask for more, so ask yours what they expect.

Book the appointment early. Americans in Portugal apply through the consulate that covers their US state, and appointment slots can be slow to come by. Croatia lets visa-exempt Americans apply in person at a police station once they’re in the country, which changes the order of your plans.

Line up your tax advice before you leave. Talk to an expat tax accountant before you move, well ahead of your first filing season abroad.

Test the place first if you can. Use your 90 visa-free days. A few weeks in the town you picked is the cheapest due diligence there is.

Mistakes I’d avoid

A few errors show up again and again in the guides I read, and all of them cost real money.

Using an old income threshold. Malta’s rose from €32,400 to €42,000, Croatia’s went from €3,295 to €3,622.50 and Portugal’s moves every January. Plenty of pages still quote the old numbers.

Assuming a nomad permit leads to residency. Croatia’s permit doesn’t count toward permanent residence, Malta’s has no route to it and Slovenia’s lasts a single year. These are temporary bases.

Picking the famous city. Lisbon, Dubrovnik and Sliema are where the rents are highest. The savings in this guide come from the smaller towns.

Forgetting US taxes. Moving doesn’t end your filing duties, and a foreign tax exemption doesn’t cancel what you owe the IRS.

Miscounting Schengen days. The 90 days are shared across the whole area, and EES now tracks them for you at the border. If you plan to try several countries, keep your own tally.

Mixing up income types. Applying for a nomad permit on pension income, or for the D7 on remote work income, gets you turned down. Match the route to the money.

Which one should you pick?

The right answer depends on how you earn money and what you want your days to look like.

If you’re retired, pick Portugal. The D7 visa is built for passive income like Social Security and pensions, and the other three need remote work income.

If you work remotely and want the lowest costs, pick Portugal or Croatia, and choose a smaller city. Lisbon, Dubrovnik and Split erase most of the savings.

If you want the Adriatic coast for a year, pick Croatia. The permit’s tax exemption and 18-month length make it a good temporary base.

If you want calm and mountains, pick Slovenia. It costs a little more, and it’s the quietest of the four.

If you want English and a tax break, pick Malta. You’ll pay more for rent, and daily life is the easiest.

If you can’t decide, try before you commit. You can spend 90 days in the Schengen Area without any permit. If a city on this list is new to you, a couple of weeks there will teach you more than any cost table.

What if price is the only thing that matters?

If you want the lowest numbers in Europe and you’re willing to give up some of the convenience, look further east and south.

One 2026 ranking puts Albania at the top, with an average of around €900 a month for a single person. An EU cost comparison says Bulgaria and Romania remain among the most affordable for everyday living, with a single person’s monthly costs, rent included, running about €600 to €900 depending on the city.

These places have their own visa rules, which I haven’t covered here. Albania isn’t in the EU or the euro, and some of the permit rules differ. If one of them looks promising, research its immigration rules from scratch, because my four don’t tell you anything about them.

Conclusion

Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia and Malta are the cheapest countries in Europe that are also practical for an American with a laptop or a pension. None is the cheapest in Europe, and none is the most expensive. They land in a middle band where a single person can live comfortably on €1,400 to €2,000 a month, outside the famous cities.

The visa thresholds and the tax rules decide it, and those change every year.

If you’re still deciding, try a place before committing, because a short trip costs far less than a year-long lease. I wrote a 3-day Belgrade itinerary and a list of 14 things to do in Belgrade for a different kind of trial run, a Balkan capital that costs far less than most of the cities above. For more trips across the continent, browse the Europe guides.

Tell me in the comments which of the four you’re leaning toward, and what’s holding you back.

FAQs

What is the cheapest country to live in Europe?

Based on the 2026 rankings I found, Albania comes out cheapest, at around €900 a month for a single person. Among countries with a clear remote-work visa and the euro, Portugal and Croatia are the cheapest of the four in this guide, at roughly €1,400 to €1,900 a month including rent.

What is the cheapest country in Europe for Americans to live in?

It depends on your income. For retirees on Social Security, Portugal’s D7 visa is the practical choice. For remote workers, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia and Malta all work if you earn about €3,100 to €3,700 a month.

What is the cheapest European country to live in on a budget?

Look outside the big cities. A single person can live in Portugal or Croatia on about €1,400 to €1,900 a month, and smaller towns cost less. Albania, Bulgaria and Romania are cheaper still, but they have different visa rules.

Which are the best European countries for Americans to move to?

Portugal, Spain and Germany come up often in guides for Americans. Of the four in this guide, Portugal has the widest choice, Croatia has the coast, Slovenia has the calm and Malta has English and a tax break.

How much income do I need for a remote-work visa in these countries?

Roughly €3,100 to €3,700 a month. Portugal’s D8 is €3,680, Croatia’s permit is €3,622.50, Malta’s is €3,500 and Slovenia’s is about €3,100 to €3,400. These figures change every year, so check each country’s official page.

Can I live in Europe on Social Security?

Portugal’s D7 visa accepts passive income including Social Security and pensions, so it’s the natural fit. The nomad permits in the other three countries require active remote work income, so Social Security alone won’t qualify.

Do I still pay US taxes if I live in Europe?

Yes. American citizens report worldwide income to the IRS wherever they live, and you may qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion or foreign tax credits, depending on your situation. You may also need to report foreign accounts above $10,000, so talk to an expat tax professional before you move.

Can Americans stay in Europe without a visa?

Yes, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen Area. EES now records your entries and exits, and ETIAS is still not in operation as of late September 2026.

How long can I stay on a digital nomad permit?

It varies. Portugal’s D8 comes as a one- or two-year visa and can be renewed, and Malta’s is issued for a year and can be renewed, with a five-month presence requirement. Croatia’s permit runs up to 18 months in recent guides, and Slovenia’s lasts up to one year with no extension.

Do I need health insurance to move to Europe?

Yes. Each of these four permits requires valid health insurance. Portugal’s D8 sets a minimum of €30,000 in coverage, and the others require a policy that covers the full length of your stay.

Which of these four countries is the safest?

All four are generally considered safe for visitors. One guide to Ljubljana ranks Slovenia among the safest countries in the world in a 2026 peace index. Check your government’s current travel advice for the most up-to-date picture before you go.