Yahoo! Finance UK and Ireland has described Malta as the best place to retire.

After teaming up with Castle Cover insurance company, Yahoo! Finance took into consideration several aspects from rainfall to crime rates, healthcare (availability and cost), tax and how much homes cost to find out the best options.

Malta was described to have 3,100 hours of sunshine a year, an average year-round temperature of 18.9 Celsius and English as a first language for most people. Malta was therefore named as the top, all-round, retirement destination.

In second place comes Portugal which shares the placing with the UK and where retirees find it remarkably cheap to live. It is three times cheaper to buy property in Portugal than in France and has the third largest European British expat population.

Spain has the largest expat community in Europe as well as the lowest crime rate of the countries investigated. It therefore ranks in third place not least because of Spain’s beautiful cities, the rolling countryside in Catalonia, historic Unesco-protected areas like Toledo and islands including Tenerife, Ibiza, and Menorca provide something for everyone.

Barbados comes fourth. It has the sun, sea and friendliness one expects in the Caribbean together with virtually free healthcare, low property tax, an average temperature of 26 Celsius and plenty of British expats.

The USA, Australia and Thailand also feature well in the list due to low fuel, cheap healthcare and favourable weather. Thailand, Jamaica, Morocco and Greece are also on the list.