Georgia vs Türkiye

Georgia is ahead on money & crypto, safety, housing, healthcare, language, infrastructure. Türkiye is ahead on legalization. Full criterion-by-criterion data below.

Verified Jul 15, 2026

Georgia Türkiye

Scoreboard

The key numbers head-to-head — the stronger side is marked. The overall score stays decoration; what matters is which facts fit you.

Georgia leads on 5 of 7

	Georgia	Türkiye
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$220/mo i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.	$450/mo i TÜİK — Household Consumption Expenditure 2024 (per-capita COICOP), CPI-uplifted Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jun 30, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method TÜİK 2024 average household consumption 45,344 TRY/mo ÷ 3.1 persons = 14,627 TRY/capita (2024). Housing (26.0%) split ~70% rent (excluded) / ~30% utilities (kept), matching the peer basis. Excl-rent per-capita uplifted to mid-2026 by TÜİK CPI ×1.7534 and converted at 46.65 TRY/USD (TCMB 2026-07-02) → ≈$450. Notes WARNING — lira volatility: with ~32% annual inflation and a constantly repricing FX rate, this USD figure carries a ±15–20% band and shifts month to month; the TRY has appreciated in real terms since 2024, so Türkiye's USD cost of living has been RISING even as it stays below EU peers. All-household per-capita basis; Istanbul/İzmir run above the national figure.
Rent: 1-bedroom (city avg)	★$532/mo i ss.ge / korter.ge listing samples (Tbilisi + Batumi) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method City-average 1-bedroom asking rent (portals quote USD): Tbilisi ≈ $540, Batumi ≈ $485; population-weighted (Tbilisi 1.33M, Batumi 0.24M) ≈ $532. Small listing samples — indicative. Notes Asking prices from active listings, not transacted rents; Batumi swings sharply with the summer tourist season (winter long-term rates are lower). Georgian portals count total rooms, so a '2-room' listing ≈ a 1-bedroom — mapped accordingly.	$720/mo i Endeksa Istanbul rental index + reported 1+1 city-average asking rents Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jun 30, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Istanbul 1+1 (one-bedroom) city-average asking rent ≈ 33,600 TRY/mo (late-2025→mid-2026; endeksa June-2026 city median ~420 TRY/m²) ÷ 46.65 TRY/USD (TCMB 2026-07-02) ≈ $720. Notes Istanbul figure (the reference city), not national — the national average is materially lower. Huge center/periphery spread: outer districts imply ~$490 for a 1+1, central districts push toward $860–1,100. Istanbul rents surged far faster than general inflation over 2022–2025; the USD value is volatile with the lira. Asking prices, not signed leases. Per-city rent matrices live on the city pages.
Freelancer tax burden	1% i SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.	4.4% i SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (100% service-export income deduction, Bağ-Kur minimum premium) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~3,193,644 TL) for an IT freelancer serving FOREIGN clients (scheme tr-freelancer-export): the 100% service-export income deduction (raised from 80% for 2026) zeroes the income tax; only the fixed minimum Bağ-Kur social premium (11,808.23 TL/month = 141,699/yr) is due. Burden = 141,699 / 3,193,644 = 4.4%. Serving Turkish clients instead (no export deduction) runs ~31–33% (progressive + Bağ-Kur).
Homicide rate	★2.03/100k i UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2019 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.	3.23/100k i World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Türkiye, 2023) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Notes UNODC series via the World Bank: 3.23 per 100,000 in 2023 (up from 2.62 in 2022; the series has gaps and swings). 2024/2025 not yet published. Türkiye is not covered by Eurostat, so cross-country comparison relies on the UNODC series. Moderate-to-higher than the European peers in the set.
Internet speed	★16 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Median of 343 daily country medians (download_MED), 47,852 download tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; the 2024 file is only Jan–Mar, and 2025/2026 are not yet published). Georgia sits under continent code AS in M-Lab. Notes M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Cross-check: the World Bank's July-2024 median of ~20 Mbps (Ookla-derived, so not citable here) is consistent with this once the M-Lab-reads-low offset is accounted for. Speeds are trending up (~10%/yr: M-Lab yearly medians ran 9.7 in 2020 → 15.8 in 2023), so multi-year pooling would understate current speed; the latest full year is used instead. GNCC/comcom.ge publishes operator quality-of-service measurements (e.g. Magticom fixed ~56 Mb/s advertised-tier average, 2025/26) but no national measured median, and its own speed commentary relies on the same Ookla data we can't redistribute.	12 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Türkiye (Asia grouping) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Median of the 343 daily country-median download values for TR in 2023 = 12.09 Mbps (402,083 download tests; Türkiye is filed under M-Lab's Asia (AS) continent grouping, not EU). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below marketed figures — Turkish fibre commonly markets 100–1000 Mbps — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API. Notes The single-stream M-Lab median is low (and the lowest in the set) but reflects a consistent cross-country method, not real fibre-line speeds; Turkish fixed broadband is much faster in practice.
English proficiency	★High i EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.	Low i EF EPI 2025 — Türkiye (rank 71/123, score 488, Low band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Türkiye rank 71/123, score 488 (Low band, cutoff 450–499), a 9-point decline from the prior edition. English is workable in Istanbul/tourism and parts of the tech sector but thin in public offices and smaller cities; Turkish is the sole official language. The lowest English band in the set.
Private healthcare cost	★$450/yr i Georgian insurers (Ardi, GPI, Imedi L) — comprehensive-tier plans Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Midpoint of comprehensive local plans: Ardi Medi Premium from ~$340/yr up to market comprehensive ~$795/yr (converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD). Expat international plans run higher ($1,000–2,000/yr). Notes Georgian insurers quote by callback rather than public age-rated engines, so this is a curated market midpoint for local comprehensive cover, not a bound quote.	$860/yr i Curated from Turkish private health insurers (özel sağlık sigortası; Allianz, Anadolu, Axa, Türkiye Sigorta) — insurers quote individually Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 15, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Comprehensive standalone private health insurance (outpatient + inpatient private-hospital cover) for a healthy 35-year-old runs ~25,000–100,000 TRY/yr depending on the contracted hospital network; a mid-tier plan sits near ~40,000 TRY/yr ≈ $860 at 46.65 TRY/USD. Band ≈ $540–$2,140. Notes Two-tier context: residents with a work/residence basis are covered by mandatory public insurance (SGK); on top, Turks commonly buy complementary insurance (~5,000–20,000 TRY/yr) working with SGK at private hospitals, or full standalone private cover (this figure). The cheap mandatory foreigner residence-permit policy (~$32–130/yr) is minimal cover, not comparable. Private cover is cheap in USD because of the weak lira; TRY premiums rise 50–80%/yr, so this is a volatile curated midpoint.

Verdict

Each lens weighs only the facts that matter to that plan, and names the side it favours.

Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.

Georgia fits better — 2 of 5

	Georgia	Türkiye
Freelancer tax burden	1% i SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.	4.4% i SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (100% service-export income deduction, Bağ-Kur minimum premium) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~3,193,644 TL) for an IT freelancer serving FOREIGN clients (scheme tr-freelancer-export): the 100% service-export income deduction (raised from 80% for 2026) zeroes the income tax; only the fixed minimum Bağ-Kur social premium (11,808.23 TL/month = 141,699/yr) is due. Burden = 141,699 / 3,193,644 = 4.4%. Serving Turkish clients instead (no export deduction) runs ~31–33% (progressive + Bağ-Kur).
Internet speed	★16 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Median of 343 daily country medians (download_MED), 47,852 download tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; the 2024 file is only Jan–Mar, and 2025/2026 are not yet published). Georgia sits under continent code AS in M-Lab. Notes M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Cross-check: the World Bank's July-2024 median of ~20 Mbps (Ookla-derived, so not citable here) is consistent with this once the M-Lab-reads-low offset is accounted for. Speeds are trending up (~10%/yr: M-Lab yearly medians ran 9.7 in 2020 → 15.8 in 2023), so multi-year pooling would understate current speed; the latest full year is used instead. GNCC/comcom.ge publishes operator quality-of-service measurements (e.g. Magticom fixed ~56 Mb/s advertised-tier average, 2025/26) but no national measured median, and its own speed commentary relies on the same Ookla data we can't redistribute.	12 Mbps i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Türkiye (Asia grouping) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Median of the 343 daily country-median download values for TR in 2023 = 12.09 Mbps (402,083 download tests; Türkiye is filed under M-Lab's Asia (AS) continent grouping, not EU). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below marketed figures — Turkish fibre commonly markets 100–1000 Mbps — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API. Notes The single-stream M-Lab median is low (and the lowest in the set) but reflects a consistent cross-country method, not real fibre-line speeds; Turkish fixed broadband is much faster in practice.
English proficiency	★High i EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.	Low i EF EPI 2025 — Türkiye (rank 71/123, score 488, Low band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Türkiye rank 71/123, score 488 (Low band, cutoff 450–499), a 9-point decline from the prior edition. English is workable in Istanbul/tourism and parts of the tech sector but thin in public offices and smaller cities; Turkish is the sole official language. The lowest English band in the set.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$220/mo i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.	$450/mo i TÜİK — Household Consumption Expenditure 2024 (per-capita COICOP), CPI-uplifted Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jun 30, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method TÜİK 2024 average household consumption 45,344 TRY/mo ÷ 3.1 persons = 14,627 TRY/capita (2024). Housing (26.0%) split ~70% rent (excluded) / ~30% utilities (kept), matching the peer basis. Excl-rent per-capita uplifted to mid-2026 by TÜİK CPI ×1.7534 and converted at 46.65 TRY/USD (TCMB 2026-07-02) → ≈$450. Notes WARNING — lira volatility: with ~32% annual inflation and a constantly repricing FX rate, this USD figure carries a ±15–20% band and shifts month to month; the TRY has appreciated in real terms since 2024, so Türkiye's USD cost of living has been RISING even as it stays below EU peers. All-household per-capita basis; Istanbul/İzmir run above the national figure.
Domestic delivery quality	Good i Georgian Post + courier service pages (composite) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Georgian Post ~500 branches nationwide (1–3 day domestic parcels, some lockers/pickup points); Wolt Drive and Glovo last-mile in Tbilisi/Batumi; DHL/FedEx/UPS present. Dense and reliable in cities; locker density and nationwide same-day coverage thinner than EU leaders → good, not excellent.	Good i Turkish carrier ecosystem — PTT + Yurtiçi/Aras/MNG/Sürat/Sendeo/HepsiJET/Trendyol Express Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 15, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Dense, competitive domestic courier market on the back of a huge e-commerce sector (Trendyol, Hepsiburada): PTT Kargo plus Yurtiçi, Aras, MNG, Sürat, Sendeo, HepsiJET and Trendyol Express give nationwide next-day/2-day coverage; same/next-day is normal in the big metros. Cash-on-delivery ('kapıda ödeme') is ubiquitous. Parcel-locker density is growing but below the locker-saturated benchmark, so rated 'good' rather than 'excellent'.

Relocating with a partner and school-age children.

Georgia fits better — 3 of 3

	Georgia	Türkiye
Homicide rate	★2.03/100k i UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2019 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.	3.23/100k i World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Türkiye, 2023) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Notes UNODC series via the World Bank: 3.23 per 100,000 in 2023 (up from 2.62 in 2022; the series has gaps and swings). 2024/2025 not yet published. Türkiye is not covered by Eurostat, so cross-country comparison relies on the UNODC series. Moderate-to-higher than the European peers in the set.
Private healthcare cost	★$450/yr i Georgian insurers (Ardi, GPI, Imedi L) — comprehensive-tier plans Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Midpoint of comprehensive local plans: Ardi Medi Premium from ~$340/yr up to market comprehensive ~$795/yr (converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD). Expat international plans run higher ($1,000–2,000/yr). Notes Georgian insurers quote by callback rather than public age-rated engines, so this is a curated market midpoint for local comprehensive cover, not a bound quote.	$860/yr i Curated from Turkish private health insurers (özel sağlık sigortası; Allianz, Anadolu, Axa, Türkiye Sigorta) — insurers quote individually Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 15, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Comprehensive standalone private health insurance (outpatient + inpatient private-hospital cover) for a healthy 35-year-old runs ~25,000–100,000 TRY/yr depending on the contracted hospital network; a mid-tier plan sits near ~40,000 TRY/yr ≈ $860 at 46.65 TRY/USD. Band ≈ $540–$2,140. Notes Two-tier context: residents with a work/residence basis are covered by mandatory public insurance (SGK); on top, Turks commonly buy complementary insurance (~5,000–20,000 TRY/yr) working with SGK at private hospitals, or full standalone private cover (this figure). The cheap mandatory foreigner residence-permit policy (~$32–130/yr) is minimal cover, not comparable. Private cover is cheap in USD because of the weak lira; TRY premiums rise 50–80%/yr, so this is a volatile curated midpoint.
English proficiency	★High i EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.	Low i EF EPI 2025 — Türkiye (rank 71/123, score 488, Low band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Türkiye rank 71/123, score 488 (Low band, cutoff 450–499), a 9-point decline from the prior edition. English is workable in Istanbul/tourism and parts of the tech sector but thin in public offices and smaller cities; Turkish is the sole official language. The lowest English band in the set.

Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.

Georgia fits better — 2 of 3

	Georgia	Türkiye
Crypto regulation	★Legal friendly i National Bank of Georgia — Virtual Asset Service Providers Official source Data as of Jul 1, 2023 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes Individuals pay 0% income tax on crypto gains (Minister of Finance Public Decision N201, 2019 — crypto is not Georgian-source income for individuals) and crypto↔fiat exchange is VAT-exempt. Service providers must register as VASPs with the NBG (regime since 1 July 2023). Very favourable for individual holders, hence legal-friendly.	Legal regulated i Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK/CMB) — Law No. 7518 licensing of crypto-asset service providers; CBRT 2021 crypto-payment ban Official source Data as of Jul 2, 2024 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Notes Trading, holding and exchanging crypto are legal and very popular, but PAYING with crypto is BANNED (CBRT regulation in force 30 April 2021). Law No. 7518 (in force from 2 July 2024) put crypto-asset service providers under the Capital Markets Board (SPK): mandatory licensing, custody duties and minimum capital; offshore platforms targeting residents and crypto ATMs had to wind down. Classified 'legal-regulated' — trading legal and now formally supervised, payments prohibited.
Financial control level	★Low i US State Dept 2025 Investment Climate Statement (Georgia) / trade.gov Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method GEL freely convertible (float since 1998; IMF Article VIII since 1996); no capital controls; funds transfer abroad freely (except sanctioned destinations); no routine cash caps or resident foreign-account exit restrictions. Notes Caveat: since Georgia joined CRS (2024) and post-2022 de-risking, non-resident bank account onboarding has become notably stricter (source-of-funds documentation, some rejections). The FX regime itself is open; the friction is at bank KYC.	Moderate i Revenue Administration (GİB) — cash-payment documentation (tevsik) limit; CBRT crypto-payment ban Official source Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Composite: the lira is freely convertible and residents may hold foreign-currency deposits/accounts and move money abroad — no hard individual capital controls. But the state exerts more control than EU peers: payments above 30,000 TRY (~$640) must be routed through banks/cards (tevsik rule); crypto payments are banned; the authorities intervene actively in the FX market and use reserve/macroprudential measures; and import de-minimis is low with high duties. Freely convertible but with a low cash-through-bank threshold and several controls → 'moderate' (stricter end). Notes High inflation erodes money in practice but is not a legal control. Day-to-day banking, FX purchase and transfers are unrestricted for an individual; the frictions are the low cash-routing threshold, the crypto-payment ban and occasional FX intervention.
Freelancer tax burden	1% i SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.	4.4% i SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (100% service-export income deduction, Bağ-Kur minimum premium) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 1, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~3,193,644 TL) for an IT freelancer serving FOREIGN clients (scheme tr-freelancer-export): the 100% service-export income deduction (raised from 80% for 2026) zeroes the income tax; only the fixed minimum Bağ-Kur social premium (11,808.23 TL/month = 141,699/yr) is due. Burden = 141,699 / 3,193,644 = 4.4%. Serving Turkish clients instead (no export deduction) runs ~31–33% (progressive + Bağ-Kur).

Prioritising safety, air, and an easy daily life.

Georgia fits better — 1 of 2

	Georgia	Türkiye
Homicide rate	★2.03/100k i UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2019 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Notes 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.	3.23/100k i World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Türkiye, 2023) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Notes UNODC series via the World Bank: 3.23 per 100,000 in 2023 (up from 2.62 in 2022; the series has gaps and swings). 2024/2025 not yet published. Türkiye is not covered by Eurostat, so cross-country comparison relies on the UNODC series. Moderate-to-higher than the European peers in the set.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$220/mo i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.	$450/mo i TÜİK — Household Consumption Expenditure 2024 (per-capita COICOP), CPI-uplifted Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jun 30, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method TÜİK 2024 average household consumption 45,344 TRY/mo ÷ 3.1 persons = 14,627 TRY/capita (2024). Housing (26.0%) split ~70% rent (excluded) / ~30% utilities (kept), matching the peer basis. Excl-rent per-capita uplifted to mid-2026 by TÜİK CPI ×1.7534 and converted at 46.65 TRY/USD (TCMB 2026-07-02) → ≈$450. Notes WARNING — lira volatility: with ~32% annual inflation and a constantly repricing FX rate, this USD figure carries a ±15–20% band and shifts month to month; the TRY has appreciated in real terms since 2024, so Türkiye's USD cost of living has been RISING even as it stays below EU peers. All-household per-capita basis; Istanbul/İzmir run above the national figure.

Details

Taxes

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

Freelancer tax burden% effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profile110.04.410.0

What this measures

Effective total burden (income tax + mandatory social and health contributions) for a solo IT freelancer with €60,000/year revenue and 10% deductible expenses, using the most favourable eligible scheme in the country's tax-schemes data. Computed by the SettleMetric tax engine; recorded as a curated value with the winning scheme id in method.

Lower is better· % effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profile· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

SettleMetric tax engine over Tax Code (Small Business Status)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Best eligible scheme ge-small-business-1pct at €60,000 = 180,738 GEL (NBG 3.0123 GEL/EUR), below the 500,000 GEL threshold → 1% turnover tax = 1,807 GEL, no mandatory social/pension. Effective burden ≈ 1.0%.

Türkiye

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (100% service-export income deduction, Bağ-Kur minimum premium)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Method: Best eligible scheme at €60,000 (~3,193,644 TL) for an IT freelancer serving FOREIGN clients (scheme tr-freelancer-export): the 100% service-export income deduction (raised from 80% for 2026) zeroes the income tax; only the fixed minimum Bağ-Kur social premium (11,808.23 TL/month = 141,699/yr) is due. Burden = 141,699 / 3,193,644 = 4.4%. Serving Turkish clients instead (no export deduction) runs ~31–33% (progressive + Bağ-Kur).

Legalization

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

Remote-work legalization easeLong stay path6.0Dedicated nomad visa10.0

What this measures

Best available legalization route for a location-independent earner with a median (non-EU, non-US) passport, classified from this country's legalization-paths data: dedicated digital-nomad visa; general freelance/self-employment permit; realistic long-stay path (e.g. renewable temporary residence); only short visa-free/tourist stays; effectively none.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Georgia

Government Ordinance N255 — visa-free entry

Official source

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Exceptionally easy in practice: ~94 nationalities (incl. all EU, US, UK, Ukraine, Russia) may stay visa-free for a full year and register an Individual Entrepreneur with 1% Small Business Status the same day — no residence permit needed. Scored as a long-stay path; there is no formal 'digital nomad visa' and the year of visa-free stay does not itself build toward permanent residence.

Türkiye

GoTürkiye (official) — Digital Nomad Visa program

Official source

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Notes: Türkiye runs a dedicated digital-nomad route on the government GoTürkiye platform (Digital Nomad Identification Certificate → visa → short-term residence), for degree-holding remote workers aged 21–55 earning ≥ $3,000/month from abroad. A short-term residence permit (ikamet) is the general fallback. Combined with the 100% service-export tax deduction it is a strong, low-tax remote-work base.

Cost of living

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

Cost of living (single, excl. rent)USD/month, single person, excluding rent22010.045010.0

What this measures

Monthly cost of a defined single-person basket (food, transport, utilities, mobile+internet, modest leisure) excluding rent, curated from national statistics office price data and large local retailers' published prices, converted to USD at the ECB rate recorded in fx-rates. The method field of each value itemizes the basket inputs.

Lower is better· USD/month, single person, excluding rent· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Geostat 2025 average per-capita monthly consumption (603 GEL) split by the survey's COICOP category shares, with the imputed-housing portion removed, converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD (NBG 2026-07-02). Categories sum to this figure. Geostat has no clean single-person-excl-rent basket, so treat as a curated estimate.

Türkiye

TÜİK — Household Consumption Expenditure 2024 (per-capita COICOP), CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jun 30, 2026
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Method: TÜİK 2024 average household consumption 45,344 TRY/mo ÷ 3.1 persons = 14,627 TRY/capita (2024). Housing (26.0%) split ~70% rent (excluded) / ~30% utilities (kept), matching the peer basis. Excl-rent per-capita uplifted to mid-2026 by TÜİK CPI ×1.7534 and converted at 46.65 TRY/USD (TCMB 2026-07-02) → ≈$450.
Notes: WARNING — lira volatility: with ~32% annual inflation and a constantly repricing FX rate, this USD figure carries a ±15–20% band and shifts month to month; the TRY has appreciated in real terms since 2024, so Türkiye's USD cost of living has been RISING even as it stays below EU peers. All-household per-capita basis; Istanbul/İzmir run above the national figure.

Monthly spending by category (excl. rent)

Category	Georgia i Geostat — Households Expenditures survey 2025 (category shares) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2025 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Geostat 2025 per-capita consumption shares (food 38.7%, transport 11.4%, healthcare 11.0%, etc.) applied to the ~$220/mo excl-rent base and converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD. Georgia's very high food share is characteristic of the income level. National average — rent shown separately.	Türkiye i TÜİK Household Consumption Expenditure 2024 (per-capita COICOP), CPI-uplifted Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jun 30, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method TÜİK 2024 per-capita monthly spend by COICOP division ÷ 3.1 per capita, ×1.7534 CPI uplift to mid-2026, ÷46.65 TRY/USD; housing shown as utilities only (~30% of the housing division, rent excluded). Sums to ≈$450. Türkiye has an unusually high transport share (21.6%), driven by fuel and vehicle costs.
Transport	$26	$119
Food & non-alcoholic beverages	—	$99
Food & non-alcoholic drinks	$88	—
Housing utilities (energy, water, maintenance) excl. rent	—	$43
Restaurants, recreation & communications	$41	—
Clothing & footwear	$13	$28
Restaurants & accommodation	—	$36
Furnishings & household equipment	—	$32
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)	$25	—
Personal care & miscellaneous goods/services	—	$21
Information & communication	—	$20
Utilities & energy	$18	—
Alcohol & tobacco	—	$14
Health (out-of-pocket)	—	$13
Recreation, sport & culture	—	$13
Household goods	$12	—
Education services	—	$9
Education	$7	—
Insurance & financial services	—	$4
Total (excl. rent)	$230/mo	$451/mo

Housing

Rent by apartment type

Asking rent, central price with outside-centre in parentheses ($/mo).

Apartment	Georgia i SettleMetric — population-weighted average of covered cities (Batumi, Tbilisi) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 3, 2026 Verified Jul 3, 2026 Method Population-weighted mean of the rent-breakdown matrices of Batumi, Tbilisi; each cell averages the cities that report it. See each city page for its exact local matrix.	Türkiye i SettleMetric — population-weighted average of covered cities (Antalya, Istanbul) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jun 30, 2026 Verified Jul 15, 2026 Method Population-weighted mean of the rent-breakdown matrices of Antalya, Istanbul; each cell averages the cities that report it. See each city page for its exact local matrix.
Studio	$450 ($303)	$353 ($182)
1-bedroom	$592 ($471)	$471 ($244)
2-bedroom	$892 ($635)	$706 ($366)
3-bedroom	$1,370 ($970)	$1,000 ($518)

Safety

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

Homicide rateintentional homicides per 100,000/year27.03.26.1

What this measures

Intentional homicide victims per 100,000 population, latest available year. Country level: UNODC national series. City level: official municipal/police statistics where published; otherwise null (country value shown as country-level).

Lower is better· intentional homicides per 100,000/year· re-verified every 730 days

Georgia

UNODC (via World Bank mirror) — intentional homicide, Georgia

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2019
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: 2019 is the latest year UNODC publishes for Georgia. Low by global standards (world average ≈ 5.8); Georgia is widely regarded as very safe for residents. No city-level series is published.

Türkiye

World Bank / UNODC — intentional homicides per 100,000 (Türkiye, 2023)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Notes: UNODC series via the World Bank: 3.23 per 100,000 in 2023 (up from 2.62 in 2022; the series has gaps and swings). 2024/2025 not yet published. Türkiye is not covered by Eurostat, so cross-country comparison relies on the UNODC series. Moderate-to-higher than the European peers in the set.

Healthcare

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

Private healthcare costUSD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old45010.08609.0

What this measures

Median of at least three publicly quoted annual premiums for comprehensive private medical insurance (outpatient + inpatient, ~$100k coverage, small deductible) for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner, from local and international insurers. Method field lists the insurers quoted.

Lower is better· USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

Georgian insurers (Ardi, GPI, Imedi L) — comprehensive-tier plans

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Midpoint of comprehensive local plans: Ardi Medi Premium from ~$340/yr up to market comprehensive ~$795/yr (converted at 2.6431 GEL/USD). Expat international plans run higher ($1,000–2,000/yr).
Notes: Georgian insurers quote by callback rather than public age-rated engines, so this is a curated market midpoint for local comprehensive cover, not a bound quote.

Türkiye

Curated from Turkish private health insurers (özel sağlık sigortası; Allianz, Anadolu, Axa, Türkiye Sigorta) — insurers quote individually

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 15, 2026
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Method: Comprehensive standalone private health insurance (outpatient + inpatient private-hospital cover) for a healthy 35-year-old runs ~25,000–100,000 TRY/yr depending on the contracted hospital network; a mid-tier plan sits near ~40,000 TRY/yr ≈ $860 at 46.65 TRY/USD. Band ≈ $540–$2,140.
Notes: Two-tier context: residents with a work/residence basis are covered by mandatory public insurance (SGK); on top, Turks commonly buy complementary insurance (~5,000–20,000 TRY/yr) working with SGK at private hospitals, or full standalone private cover (this figure). The cheap mandatory foreigner residence-permit policy (~$32–130/yr) is minimal cover, not comparable. Private cover is cheap in USD because of the weak lira; TRY premiums rise 50–80%/yr, so this is a volatile curated midpoint.

Money & crypto

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

Crypto regulationLegal friendly10.0Legal regulated8.0

What this measures

Own classification of the legal status of holding, trading and cashing out cryptocurrency for individuals: legal-friendly (legal with clear, favourable rules or explicit tax exemptions), legal-regulated (legal under standard licensing/AML and taxation), restricted (partial bans: payments or banking access prohibited), banned (holding/trading prohibited). Classified from national regulators' and central banks' official positions.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Georgia

National Bank of Georgia — Virtual Asset Service Providers

Official source

Data as of: Jul 1, 2023
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Individuals pay 0% income tax on crypto gains (Minister of Finance Public Decision N201, 2019 — crypto is not Georgian-source income for individuals) and crypto↔fiat exchange is VAT-exempt. Service providers must register as VASPs with the NBG (regime since 1 July 2023). Very favourable for individual holders, hence legal-friendly.

Türkiye

Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK/CMB) — Law No. 7518 licensing of crypto-asset service providers; CBRT 2021 crypto-payment ban

Official source

Data as of: Jul 2, 2024
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Notes: Trading, holding and exchanging crypto are legal and very popular, but PAYING with crypto is BANNED (CBRT regulation in force 30 April 2021). Law No. 7518 (in force from 2 July 2024) put crypto-asset service providers under the Capital Markets Board (SPK): mandatory licensing, custody duties and minimum capital; offshore platforms targeting residents and crypto ATMs had to wind down. Classified 'legal-regulated' — trading legal and now formally supervised, payments prohibited.

Financial control levelLow10.0Moderate7.0

What this measures

Own composite of state control over personal money flows: currency/capital controls (IMF AREAER), restrictions on foreign accounts and transfers, mandatory income declaration scope for residents, cash payment limits, banking access for foreigners. Low = free movement of personal funds and easy non-resident banking; very-high = strict capital controls and pervasive reporting. Method field on each value lists the inputs used.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

US State Dept 2025 Investment Climate Statement (Georgia) / trade.gov

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2025
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: GEL freely convertible (float since 1998; IMF Article VIII since 1996); no capital controls; funds transfer abroad freely (except sanctioned destinations); no routine cash caps or resident foreign-account exit restrictions.
Notes: Caveat: since Georgia joined CRS (2024) and post-2022 de-risking, non-resident bank account onboarding has become notably stricter (source-of-funds documentation, some rejections). The FX regime itself is open; the friction is at bank KYC.

Türkiye

Revenue Administration (GİB) — cash-payment documentation (tevsik) limit; CBRT crypto-payment ban

Official source

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Method: Composite: the lira is freely convertible and residents may hold foreign-currency deposits/accounts and move money abroad — no hard individual capital controls. But the state exerts more control than EU peers: payments above 30,000 TRY (~$640) must be routed through banks/cards (tevsik rule); crypto payments are banned; the authorities intervene actively in the FX market and use reserve/macroprudential measures; and import de-minimis is low with high duties. Freely convertible but with a low cash-through-bank threshold and several controls → 'moderate' (stricter end).
Notes: High inflation erodes money in practice but is not a legal control. Day-to-day banking, FX purchase and transfers are unrestricted for an individual; the frictions are the low cash-routing threshold, the crypto-payment ban and occasional FX intervention.

Infrastructure

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

Domestic delivery qualityGood7.0Good7.0

What this measures

Quality of in-country parcel delivery. excellent = nationwide next-day widely available, dense parcel-locker network, real-time tracking standard; good = 1–3 day delivery, lockers in major cities; basic = reliable but slow (3–7 days), mostly to-door or post-office pickup; poor = unreliable delivery, street addresses often unusable, informal workarounds common. Classified from official service/coverage data of the national postal operator and the two largest private carriers; inputs itemized in each value's method field.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Georgia

Georgian Post + courier service pages (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Method: Georgian Post ~500 branches nationwide (1–3 day domestic parcels, some lockers/pickup points); Wolt Drive and Glovo last-mile in Tbilisi/Batumi; DHL/FedEx/UPS present. Dense and reliable in cities; locker density and nationwide same-day coverage thinner than EU leaders → good, not excellent.

Türkiye

Turkish carrier ecosystem — PTT + Yurtiçi/Aras/MNG/Sürat/Sendeo/HepsiJET/Trendyol Express

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 15, 2026
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Method: Dense, competitive domestic courier market on the back of a huge e-commerce sector (Trendyol, Hepsiburada): PTT Kargo plus Yurtiçi, Aras, MNG, Sürat, Sendeo, HepsiJET and Trendyol Express give nationwide next-day/2-day coverage; same/next-day is normal in the big metros. Cash-on-delivery ('kapıda ödeme') is ubiquitous. Parcel-locker density is growing but below the locker-saturated benchmark, so rated 'good' rather than 'excellent'.

International delivery easeMinor friction7.0Significant friction4.0

What this measures

Ease of receiving goods from abroad. seamless = major international carriers deliver door-to-door, meaningful duty-free de-minimis threshold, customs clearance predictable in days; minor-friction = carriers present but low de-minimis, extra paperwork or routine delays; significant-friction = frequent customs holds, high brokerage fees, some marketplaces refuse to ship; unreliable = parcels regularly lost or blocked, informal import channels dominate. De-minimis thresholds and clearance rules from the national customs authority (official source, cite the regulation); carrier presence from carriers' official pages.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

Revenue Service of Georgia — customs procedures

Official source

Data as of: Jul 3, 2026
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Georgia is outside the EU/EAEU. Personal-import de minimis: 300 GEL (≈ $113) and ≤ 30 kg, once per calendar month, exempt; above that, 18% import VAT + 0–12% duty + a small customs fee. All major integrators (DHL, FedEx, UPS, Aramex) present. Predictable but the low monthly de-minimis cap adds friction.

Türkiye

Türkiye Ministry of Trade — Presidential Decree lowering the import de-minimis and raising duty on personal parcels (Official Gazette, 6 Aug 2024; Dec 2024 amendment)

Official source

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Notes: Cross-border inbound shipping faces heavy friction. The duty-free de-minimis was cut from €150 to €30 (in force 21 Aug 2024) and effectively ~€27 with shipping (Dec 2024); parcels are hit with a single flat customs charge of 30% of value for EU-origin goods and 60% for non-EU (plus special consumption tax where relevant). Non-EU customs clearance plus these high duties make ordering from abroad slow and expensive → 'significant-friction'. Domestic and outbound are unaffected.

Internet speedMbps, median fixed download15.80.712.10.3

What this measures

Median fixed-broadband download speed over the trailing 6 months from M-Lab NDT open data (CC0), aggregated at country or city level. Not comparable with Ookla figures (different test methodology) — do not mix sources within this criterion.

Higher is better· Mbps, median fixed download· re-verified every 365 days

Georgia

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Georgia

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Median of 343 daily country medians (download_MED), 47,852 download tests (2023 — latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API; the 2024 file is only Jan–Mar, and 2025/2026 are not yet published). Georgia sits under continent code AS in M-Lab.
Notes: M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures — comparable only within this criterion. Cross-check: the World Bank's July-2024 median of ~20 Mbps (Ookla-derived, so not citable here) is consistent with this once the M-Lab-reads-low offset is accounted for. Speeds are trending up (~10%/yr: M-Lab yearly medians ran 9.7 in 2020 → 15.8 in 2023), so multi-year pooling would understate current speed; the latest full year is used instead. GNCC/comcom.ge publishes operator quality-of-service measurements (e.g. Magticom fixed ~56 Mb/s advertised-tier average, 2025/26) but no national measured median, and its own speed commentary relies on the same Ookla data we can't redistribute.

Türkiye

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Türkiye (Asia grouping)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Method: Median of the 343 daily country-median download values for TR in 2023 = 12.09 Mbps (402,083 download tests; Türkiye is filed under M-Lab's Asia (AS) continent grouping, not EU). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below marketed figures — Turkish fibre commonly markets 100–1000 Mbps — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API.
Notes: The single-stream M-Lab median is low (and the lowest in the set) but reflects a consistent cross-country method, not real fibre-line speeds; Turkish fixed broadband is much faster in practice.

Language

CriterionGeorgiaTürkiye

English proficiencyHigh7.0Low2.0

What this measures

Own banding of how far English gets a resident in daily life (government offices, healthcare, housing, services). Informed by EF EPI band (research source, cited with attribution, not republished) plus official language status and service-sector realities. Values are our bands, not EF scores.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Georgia

EF EPI 2025 (score 541, rank 35/123 — High band)

Research

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 3, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). English is workable in Tbilisi/Batumi tourism and the younger service sector; less so in government and older generations. Russian remains widely understood.

Türkiye

EF EPI 2025 — Türkiye (rank 71/123, score 488, Low band)

Research

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 15, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Türkiye rank 71/123, score 488 (Low band, cutoff 450–499), a 9-point decline from the prior edition. English is workable in Istanbul/tourism and parts of the tech sector but thin in public offices and smaller cities; Turkish is the sole official language. The lowest English band in the set.

Deep dives: taxes in Georgia ·taxes in Türkiye ·net-income calculator