7 Worst Countries to Find a Wife
First of all, we are not talking about the worst nationality to marry or the worst nationality to date here because there’s no such thing as the “worst personality.” We’re talking about the worst countries to find a wife—this has nothing to do with the cultural and personal traits of all those women living in these countries.
If Afghanistan tops our list, it doesn’t mean Afghani women are bad—it’s the countries that have problems, not the people (by the way, if you’d like to take a look at the best countries to find a wife, our top list is available, too).
When we started writing this post, we realized that there were a lot of countries with poor gender equality, high intimate partner violence, domestic violence, and other problems like child marriage. To make this list legit and easier to understand, we focused on such factors as poor conditions for dating, women’s rights abuse/gender discrimination, and legal issues for marriages with foreigners.
Our verdict — What is the worst country to find a wife?
The worst place to find love right now is Afghanistan. There are a lot of bad countries for a foreigner who’d like to marry a local woman, but Afghanistan is obviously the #1 of them today.
Young women and older women here suffer from gender-based violence, legal discrimination, and other problems. What’s more, if you somehow get to Kabul, you’ll probably be jailed or murdered—and we believe this is another important reason to avoid Afghanistan when searching for a foreign bride.
List of 7 worst countries to find a wife
1. Afghanistan
Unlike some other countries on this list, Afghanistan has never been safe enough to travel. Yes, it was called the Democratic Republic once, but that’s when they had a Soviet-Afghan war, so it wasn’t the Golden Age of this country, either. When the war ended, a civil war broke out, then another one, and in 2021, when the Taliban captured Kabul, all hell broke loose.
Today, under the Taliban, Afghanistan is the worst country in the world in terms of the status of women, according to the Peace Research Institute [1]. Women are not allowed to visit public spaces without a husband or a father, they must wear Islamic veils, they are forbidden from attending schools, and they are forced into marriage at a very young age. Not to mention zero political participation, women’s inclusion in decision-making, and all the other problems typical for Islamic countries.
Even if you don’t care about all those new “cultural norms” in Afghanistan, these are not all the problems you need to be aware of as a US citizen. The problem is that there is no peace and security in this country, and if you visit it, you will probably get arrested (or even killed) just because you’re an American citizen.
What we’re trying to say is:
- You should not visit this country because it’s dangerous
- You should not date local girls because it’s dangerous for you and them (and almost impossible)
But Afghanistan is not the only country we wanted to talk about.
2. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a rich, developed, and beautiful country. But unlike all the other rich, developed, and beautiful countries, it’s 100% not the right place for an American man searching for a foreign wife.
First, women here have the right to study and have a passport, which looks like a small step for Western countries but is actually a giant leap for this country. The thing is, Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country with a repressive patriarchal system. Women here, for example, are still required to get permission from a father to get married. But even if the father of your bride agrees, you still can’t marry a local woman until you convert to Islam—that’s the second problem. The third one is that the process of getting married in Saudi Arabia is extremely long, especially for foreign men—such marriages are considered undesirable, and the state clearly shows how undesirable they are.
3. Iran
Iran is the third top country in our list of the worst countries to find a wife. However, if you’re an American citizen, it’s probably as bad as Afghanistan for you.
Why?
Because they call the US Shaytan-e Bozorg, the Great Satan—and that is basically one of the highest levels of anti-Americanism we’ve ever seen or heard of. However, this is a position of the state: despite decades of propaganda, we still can’t say that 100% of Iranians hate America—what’s more, a lot of them actually like American culture!
But it’s not Iranian people you’ll suffer from if you visit the country; it’s their government. As an American citizen, you will most likely be spied upon, you may suffer from violence, and you may become a part of a political game without even knowing about it.
By the way, here’s another problem: Americans can’t do solo travel in Iran; they can only get a confirmed tour with a state-controlled guide (pretty much like it works in North Korea). This means it would be 100% impossible for you to meet your online partner or have something like a “romance tour” when you visit the country and meet a few women you communicate with online.
4. Nigeria
Smart and hard-working people, cultural diversity, natural resources, and open borders—Nigeria is definitely a nice country. Yes, there are a lot of problems here, from economic instability to problems with infrastructure, but it still looks nice, especially when compared with Afghanistan or Iran.
And, well, it’s not as bad as those countries when it comes to international marriages. The government doesn’t hunt Americans, and it’s not forbidden for local women to marry a foreign man here.
However, it’s not that bright if you compare Nigeria to the countries that are better than failed states.
Thus, Nigerian Immigration authorities closely monitor marriages between locals and foreign nationals, and what’s more important, it’s now forbidden to marry in Nigeria if you’ve entered the country under a “Holiday” visa, which is the easiest and the fastest visa to get. Marrying a local is not impossible, but it’s harder and more time-consuming than in most countries in the world. That’s why Nigeria made it to the list of the worst countries.
5. Pakistan
Unlike previously mentioned countries, Pakistan doesn’t limit its citizens from marrying foreigners; well, at least not to the same extent as Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan do. Foreign men can marry Pakistani women—the Islamic marriage ceremony is called “Nikkah.” The problem here is that it’s an Islamic marriage ceremony, which means a foreigner must convert to Islam in order to be able to marry a Pakistani woman.
That’s how it works in the absolute majority of Islamic countries, but if you’re a Muslim (or are going to convert), you have nothing to worry about.
6. Bhutan
According to the Marriage Bill of Bhutan, “every Bhutanese national… has the right to marry any other person irrespective of their faith, sex, status.” Yes, Bhutan allows same-sex marriage, and that’s an unprecedented level of freedom compared to the previous 4 countries on this list. So, how did Bhutan make it to the list of the worst places for marriage?
Here are the numbers: 8.6% of Bhutanese women reported they had been subject to violence by their intimate partner in the previous year, and 6.2% of the girls got married by age 15. Gender-based violence against women is a significant problem here, and women suffer from a lack of opportunities in this country. Bhutan might not limit foreigners from marriages, but it’s doing pretty well when it comes to limiting its women from getting equal opportunities, freedom, and security.
7. Singapore
Singapore is one of The Four Asian Tigers—it’s a developed country with a very high level of life and a world-class healthcare industry. When it comes to marrying a woman from Singapore, it’s, in fact, much easier than in any other country from this list; you don’t have to convert to any other religion, for example. But it’s not that great when we compare Singapore to other countries (especially the ones from the best countries for marriage list).
The main (and basically the only) problem here is that marrying a local person doesn’t provide any advantage to a foreigner in this country. Foreigners who marry a Singapore citizen are entitled to a long-term visa but don’t get citizenship or even residence in the country immediately. So, if you’re planning to stay in your wife’s country, Singapore is definitely not the right choice for you.
Our Editorial Team
Written byNelly Perry, Dating Expert
Nelly is our experienced writer who clearly understands how international dating works. She has been using international dating apps for more than 3 years, and she has dating profiles on all the most popular services that exist in 2023. Nelly understands how to analyze information, how to test the websites, and how to find out what an average user of a dating website wants. As a certified writer with a master's degree in Writing and English Literature, Nelly has solid knowledge about delivering useful information to our readers.
Edited byPhilippe Berry, Contributing Editor and Travel Expert
I've been to 33 countries, and I'm going to expand this list; I was pleased to date more than 100 ladies from other countries while traveling (not bragging; maybe just a little), and I'm pretty experienced in both building relationships and understanding cultures different from my own. I love having fun, exploring new places and cultures, and helping people who are as interested in international relationships as I am.
