These are the best and worst countries for making friends | indy100 | indy100

The UK has slipped downwards in the world rankings for friendliness to expat families.

In a ranking of 65 countries around the world for "Ease of Settling In," the UK ranked 44th. When it came to the "Finding Friends" category, the country ranked a paltry 49th.

In the same index back in 2016 (of 67 countries in total) the UK ranked 43rd for Finding Friends, illustrating a notable drop in this year's table.

Here's an overview of the index:

The report said the UK had seen "a downward trend in its survey position over the years and now ranks 54th out of 65 countries":

A continued weak pound, the resulting loss in foreign currency exchanges, as well as a rising inflation rate mean that just 56 per cent rate this factor positively and the UK ranks 59th out of 65 in the Personal Finance Index.
Over three in ten (31 per cent) say their disposable household income is not sufficient to cover daily expenses, with 11 per cent even saying it's nowhere near enough.

The report also noted the lack of political stability as a contributing factor to the UK's lack of appeal to expats:

In 2016, almost four-fifths of respondents (77 per cent) regarded the UK's political stability favorably. Since then, the number has dropped by 30 percentage points, and less than half of respondents (47 per cent) are positive about this factor.

Here's the full rankings for the Finding Friends subindex, Ease of Settling In Index 2017:

You can browse the full report here.

More: The best and worst countries in the world for making friends