WhereToEmigrate.io is built on data, not opinions. Every country score, visa requirement, and cost estimate in our system traces back to a verifiable primary source. This page explains exactly where our data comes from, how we process it, and how you can verify it yourself.
How We Collect Data
Our research team maintains a structured data pipeline that pulls from 10+ primary sources. Each data point is cross-referenced against at least two independent sources before entering our production database. Here are our primary data sources:
OECD International Migration Database
Immigration flows, integration indicators, and labour market data for 38 member countries.
oecd.org →World Bank Open Data
GDP per capita, purchasing power parity, remittance flows, and development indicators for 217 economies.
data.worldbank.org →United Nations Population Division
International migrant stock, refugee statistics, and demographic projections used in our population and diaspora metrics.
un.org →Numbeo Cost of Living Index
Crowd-sourced cost of living data for 9,000+ cities. We use this for rent, groceries, transport, and utilities across all 200+ countries & territories.
numbeo.com →Official Government Immigration Portals
Visa requirements, processing times, fee schedules, and eligibility criteria scraped directly from .gov domains (e.g. canada.ca, gov.uk, immi.homeaffairs.gov.au).
Glassdoor & PayScale Salary Data
Median salaries by profession and country for 40+ job categories, used in our financial fit scoring.
glassdoor.com →Transparency International CPI
Corruption Perception Index scores used as a governance quality signal in our country scoring model.
transparency.org →EF English Proficiency Index
English proficiency rankings for 113 countries, factored into language compatibility scoring.
ef.com/epi →WHO & UN HDI
Healthcare quality rankings and Human Development Index scores used in quality-of-life assessments.
hdr.undp.org →IMF World Economic Outlook
Economic growth forecasts, inflation rates, and employment projections for macroeconomic country risk assessment.
imf.org →QS World University Rankings
University rankings used for our Students lane — assessing education quality by country and institution.
topuniversities.com →Henley Passport Index
Passport power and visa-free access data for all 199 passports, used in mobility scoring.
henleyglobal.com →Data Coverage
Our database is one of the most comprehensive emigration intelligence systems publicly available. Here is what it covers:
| Metric | Coverage | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Countries & territories | 196 | March 2026 |
| Verified visa programmes | 1,900+ | March 2026 |
| Downloadable CSV datasets | 169 | March 2026 |
| Cost-of-living data points | 45,000+ | Q1 2026 |
| Salary benchmarks (profession/country pairs) | 7,800+ | Q1 2026 |
| Country hub pages | 68 | March 2026 |
| Visa comparison pages | 51 | March 2026 |
| Cost-of-living comparison pages | 51 | March 2026 |
| Profession subpages | 38 | March 2026 |
| Data refresh frequency | Quarterly | Ongoing |
Every data point in our system carries a source tag and a last-verified timestamp. When government portals update visa fees or requirements, our pipeline flags the change within the next quarterly refresh cycle.
How We Score
When you take our Get Your Free Verdict, your answers are matched against every programme in our database using a five-dimension scoring model. Each dimension receives a weighted score based on your specific profile:
Financial Fit
Compares your income, savings, and earning potential against the destination's cost of living, visa fee requirements, and minimum income thresholds. Uses Numbeo, World Bank PPP, and official visa fee data.
Visa Type Match
Evaluates which visa categories you actually qualify for based on your nationality, profession, education, age, and experience. Cross-references 1,900+ programme eligibility rules.
Language Compatibility
Assesses how well your language skills match the destination country. Considers official language, English proficiency levels, and whether the visa pathway requires language certification.
Priority Alignment
Maps your personal priorities (safety, healthcare, education quality, climate, career growth) to objective country-level indicators from WHO, UNDP, and Transparency International.
Pathway Quality
Evaluates the long-term viability of each immigration route: processing time, pathway to permanent residency, citizenship eligibility, and policy stability of the destination country.
The final country score is a weighted composite of all five dimensions, personalised to the user's profile. Countries are ranked by overall match percentage. For the full technical methodology, see our Methodology page.
Verify Our Data
We Encourage Verification
We believe transparency builds trust. Every claim in our reports and country pages can be independently verified. Here is how:
- Download our datasets — All 169 CSV files are available for free at /research/datasets under a CC BY 4.0 license
- Check original sources — Every country page links to the official government immigration portal for that country
- Compare our numbers — Cross-reference our visa fees and thresholds against the source links listed above
- Use our API — Access our structured data programmatically via our open API
Report an Error
Found something wrong?
Immigration rules change frequently. If you spot outdated or incorrect information in our database, please let us know so we can fix it promptly.
Email us at: hello@wheretoemigrate.io
Please include: the page URL, the specific data point, and a link to the correct source. We typically correct verified errors within 48 hours.
See Your Personalised Results
Our data powers personalised emigration assessments. Find out which countries match your profile.
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