5 Best Countries for Tech Developers to Work In
Remote developers open up an avenue to the global market. With occurrences of tech talent shortages in-country, some companies decide to hire a programmer offshore for remote tech jobs. Remote tech jobs can be varied, from business process outsourcing to mobile app development to full offshore software development. The diversity in technical skills makes it all the more appealing to business and IT companies. And learning how to be a software developer has become motivating in this digital age.
With the booming market for remote tech jobs, hiring software developers have now expanded to include remote software developers from all over the world. But this process requires a number of considerations.
Factors in Hiring Tech Talent
There are a number of factors to be considered when hiring tech talent. These can also impact technical skills or software developers salary. Outlined below are some of the factors that can affect hiring offshore software developers and salary comparison by a job. The various lists are based on the information generated by Numbeo, an online resource for collated user-contributed global cities and country data.
Cost of Living
Cost of living impacts how professionals live their daily lives. The cost of maintaining life in a city can affect software developer salary requirements. The list below outlines the top 10 cities around the world with the highest cost of living. The list is ordered according to the highest Cost of Living Index calculated; taking into account consumer goods prices, such as groceries, restaurant, transportation, and utilities.
| # | Worldwide |
| 1 | Switzerland |
| 2 | Iceland |
| 3 | Norway |
| 4 | Luxembourg |
| 5 | Denmark |
| 6 | Singapore |
| 7 | Japan |
| 8 | Ireland |
| 9 | South Korea |
| 10 | Netherlands |
In the list, it is evident that living in Switzerland, which has the highest cost of living index, can be very costly. With the cost of living, the higher the index calculated, the more expensive it is to live in that city or country. Because of this, software developers in those countries with a higher cost of living can require a higher software developer salary.
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Internet Speed
Aside from the cost of living, internet speed in a country, or a city, is an essential contributor to the location of remote tech jobs. Places with higher internet speed can provide security and potential for strong communication lines and continuous remote work. Outlined below are the top 10 countries worldwide with the fastest internet speed, measured in megabits per second. Singapore leads with a remarkable 60.39 megabits/second, and with a notable gap, Sweden follows in second place clocking in at an estimated 46 megabits/second.
| # | Worldwide | Internet Speed (megabits/second) |
| 1 | Singapore | 60.39 megabits per second |
| 2 | Sweden | 46 megabits per second |
| 3 | Denmark | 43.99 megabits per second |
| 4 | Norway | 40.12 megabits per second |
| 5 | Romania | 38.6 megabits per second |
| 6 | Belgium | 36.71 megabits per second |
| 7 | The Netherlands | 35.95 megabits per second |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 35.14 megabits per second |
| 9 | Hungary | 34.01 megabits per second |
| 10 | Jersey | 30.9 megabits per second |
Health Care
Health is another essential consideration. How well the country takes care of its professionals in terms of their health is important. Accessible health services are necessary for keeping professionals like remote software developers healthy. Quality health care can boost a professional’s performance and outlook, which can positively impact their performance. The table below shows that Taiwan has the highest Health Care Index, which indicates the quality of health care provided in a country. Taiwan is followed by South Korea and Japan.
| # | Worldwide |
| 1 | Taiwan |
| 2 | South Korea |
| 3 | Japan |
| 4 | Belgium |
| 5 | Denmark |
| 6 | Thailand |
| 7 | Austria |
| 8 | Netherlands |
| 9 | France |
| 10 | Spain |
Safety
For remote software developers, safety is an important consideration when looking for a place to set up remote tech jobs. Crime rates in a city or a country can indicate how safe a place is, and can impact how comfortable and safe developers can be in a place. Safety can also impact developer salary by country, where security risks are added to a software developer salary; higher security risks for the developer, higher addition to the salary.
The table below outlines the top 10 countries around the world with the highest Safety Index; the higher the safety index is of a country, the lower its Crime Index – an estimate on the overall crime level in a country. At the top of the list is Japan, with the highest Safety Index.
| # | Worldwide |
| 1 | Japan |
| 2 | Qatar |
| 3 | Singapore |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates |
| 5 | Georgia |
| 6 | Estonia |
| 7 | Taiwan |
| 8 | Austria |
| 9 | Hong Kong |
| 10 | Switzerland |
Quality of Living
Listed in the table below are the Top 10 countries in the entire world with the highest Quality of Life index. The Quality of Life Index is based on the interconnection of the previous factors, accounting for climate index, traffic commute time index, healthcare index, cost of living index, house price to income ratio index, safety index, pollution index, and purchasing power index. All these factors into extracting an estimate on the quality of life that various cities in the world provide. It is evident from the table that as a country, Denmark is the most capable in providing some of the highest quality of living for its residents.
| # | Worldwide |
| 1 | Denmark |
| 2 | Finland |
| 3 | Switzerland |
| 4 | Australia |
| 5 | Austria |
| 6 | Netherlands |
| 7 | Germany |
| 8 | New Zealand |
| 9 | Japan |
| 10 | United States |
Best Countries for Developers
Using the data and various lists for each factor to consider when looking for the best country for offshore software development professionals, below are our top 5 countries for software developers.
5. Austria
- One of the countries capable of providing quality health care.
- Amongst the countries with low overall levels of the crime rate.
- Amongst the countries with a high quality of living?
4. Singapore
- The country with the fastest internet speed.
- One of the countries with low overall crime rates.
- Can have a high cost of living.
3. Japan
- Provides quality health care to its citizens.
- Has low overall crime level.
- Capable of providing a high quality of living.
2. Netherlands
- Amongst the top countries with the highest level of quality of living.
- Is one of the countries with the fastest internet.
- Capable of providing quality health care.
1. Denmark
- Among the countries with the fastest internet speed.
- Able to provide quality health care to its citizens.
- Is the country capable of providing the highest quality of living.
Selecting the country to relocate to, or the country from which to hire software developers for remote tech jobs needs careful planning and consideration. Certain factors; like the cost of living, internet speed, health care, security, and quality of life can impact important aspects such as software developer salary by location and technical skills.
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