10,000 Monte Carlo simulations, 80+ countries, 8 weighted axes, traceable public sources. No opinions. No magic number. Every figure is auditable, and every assumption is documented here.
Last methodological review :
The FIRE Ultimate Score V3, plainly explained
V3 normalises each axis between 0 and 100, drops the top and bottom 5% outliers, then applies 8 weightings validated by our editorial board. A country's score never depends on an in-house ranking or a subjective grade: it recalculates on demand, from the same public sources you can consult below.
The 8 axes, and why these weights
Taxation carries 30% because it shifts a FIRE date by 5 to 10 years depending on the country. The secondary axes then rank by decreasing influence: real estate 10%, currency 5%, education 3%, inheritance 2%, just enough to refine the ranking without dominating it.
Each spoke length is proportional to the axis weight in the overall score.
- Taxation30%
- Cost of living20%
- Services15%
- Safety15%
- Real estate10%
- Currency5%
- Education3%
- Inheritance2%
- Taxation (30%)
- Tax on dividends, capital gains, direct-line inheritance and wealth. Primary weighting: this is the lever that moves a European expat's FIRE date the most.
- Cost of living (20%)
- Composite index of housing, food and services. A reflection of real purchasing power for a median FIRE budget.
- Services (15%)
- Healthcare, transport, administrative procedures. Critical for early retirees and families.
- Safety (15%)
- Global Peace Index, crime, political stability. A pass-or-fail filter for any long-term project.
- Real estate (10%)
- Price per m² in centre and outside, buy versus rent dynamics.
- Currency (5%)
- Exchange-rate volatility, local inflation, banking accessibility.
- Education (3%)
- PISA score and quality of international schools (for family profiles).
- Inheritance (2%)
- Regime applicable to direct-line heirs.
Why our numbers diverge from a 4% calculator
The 4% rule assumes the historical US market and a single portfolio. Our simulator crosses 10,000 market trajectories, your actual allocation, and the tax regimes of the country where you live. For a French profile with PEA and assurance-vie, the gap on the FIRE date regularly reaches 3 to 7 years.
Public sources, verifiable
No proprietary data in the scoring. Everything comes from public sources you can open and cross-check.
- Global Peace Index 2025 (Vision of Humanity)
- PISA 2022 (OECD)
- OECD Data Portal
- FX statistics, European Central Bank
- Official tax sources by jurisdiction
- Public cost-of-living indices
Frequently asked questions
How often is the data updated?
Public indices (cost of living, peace, education) are refreshed quarterly. Tax regimes are audited annually, after the finance laws of each jurisdiction are published.
Why 8 axes and not more?
Beyond 8 axes, the statistical noise of public sources exceeds the useful signal. We kept the axes that move the final FIRE date the most, measured on 4 reference personas (Optimizer, Geo-arbitrageur, Late-Bloomer, Designer-thinker).
Is the FIRE Ultimate Score predictive?
No. It is a static reference index, calculated country by country. Your personalised FIRE date is calculated in the simulator, by crossing your profile (capital, allocation, tax wrappers, income) with the target country's score.
How do you differ from cFIREsim or ProjectionLab?
cFIREsim and ProjectionLab model a single country (US by default), a single tax wrapper, and use a historical backtest. We cross 80+ jurisdictions, 20+ tax wrappers (PEA, ISA, 401k, Pillar 3a, PPR), and 10,000 stochastic Monte Carlo trajectories.
Can I review the raw figures for a country?
Yes. Every country page shows the breakdown of the 8 axes, their source, and the date of the last review. Proprietary aggregations (decumulation, sequence-of-returns) are documented in the simulator.
Is this investment advice?
No. Let's Go FIRE is a mathematical simulation. We do not provide regulated financial advice in the SEC or FCA sense. The result helps you structure a wealth strategy, not execute a decision.
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