Where can a digital nomad live in English?

Funchal (Madeira), Valletta, Malmö, Faro (Algarve), Lisbon lead the list of cities where English is native or proficiency is very high.

Top 10 · By situation

Top 10 English-speaking cities for digital nomads

Funchal (Madeira), Valletta, Malmö score best of the 107 cities where English is native or very widely spoken. Proficiency is a country-level band; daily life in a capital is usually easier than the band suggests.

EF English proficiency band native or very high; sorted by balanced score. 107 cities qualify; the ten best are shown. Dataset 2026.09.4. How the scores work.

Torn between the top two? Compare Funchal (Madeira) and Valletta side by side →

The full Top 10

#	City	English	Score	Monthly cost	US passport
1	Funchal (Madeira) Portugal	very-high	75	$2,000*	90 days
2	Valletta Malta	native	73	$2,136	90 days
3	Malmö Sweden	very-high	73	$1,957	90 days
4	Faro (Algarve) Portugal	very-high	72	$1,719	90 days
5	Lisbon Portugal	very-high	72	$2,499	90 days
6	Stockholm Sweden	very-high	71	$2,955	90 days
7	Copenhagen Denmark	very-high	70	$3,358	90 days
8	The Hague Netherlands	very-high	70	$2,843	90 days
9	Vienna Austria	very-high	70	$2,407	90 days
10	Antwerp Belgium	very-high	70	$2,604	90 days

* country-level cost estimate. Scores are 0–100 under balanced weights; open a city for every number and its source.

Frequently asked

Where can a digital nomad live in English?: Funchal (Madeira), Valletta, Malmö, Faro (Algarve), Lisbon lead the list of cities where English is native or proficiency is very high.

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