What Is a Digital Nomad? Definition and How It Works

A digital nomad is a person who does their job online while traveling. Merriam-Webster defines the term as someone who does their whole occupation over the internet while traveling. This guide explains what the word means, how many people live this way, and how the work, visas, and taxes fit together. It also covers the hard parts and what to check before a first trip.

What Does “Digital Nomad” Mean?

Three groups use the term in three ways, and each group sets a different bar.

• Dictionary meaning: Merriam-Webster defines a digital nomad as someone who does an entire job over the internet while traveling. The dictionary dates the first known use of the term to 1993.
• Survey meaning: MBO Partners, a US workforce services company, counts someone as a digital nomad only after extra tests. The person must call themselves a nomad, mix work with travel, and control where and when they travel. The person must also visit at least three places in a year and spend at least 30 percent of the year traveling. The three places do not include the person’s main home or trips to see relatives. In 2025, only 53 percent of people who called themselves digital nomads passed these tests.
• Visa meaning: The EY Global Immigration Index of March 2026 treats “digital nomad,” “anywhere worker,” and “remote worker” as the same thing. The words describe a person who is employed or self-employed with income from one country and does the daily work from another country.

The three meanings overlap. A person can count as a nomad in a survey and still hold no nomad visa. Digital nomad is a legal category only in places that run a dedicated visa, which the visa section below covers.

How Many People Are Digital Nomads?

No reliable count exists for the whole world. The best data comes from the United States.

• Size: MBO Partners estimated that 18.5 million American workers were digital nomads in 2025. The figure equals about 12 percent of the US workforce and sits 153 percent above the 2019 level.
• Growth: The count rose 2.2 percent from 2024 to 2025. MBO describes the years from 2020 to 2022 as explosive growth and the years since as modest growth.
• Job type: About 11.2 million nomads are employees, up 10 percent from 2024. Another 7.3 million work for themselves, down 7 percent.
• Who they are: Millennials make up 40 percent of nomads and Gen Z makes up 35 percent. Men are 56 percent and women are 43 percent.
• Where they go: 39 percent expected to travel only inside the US in the next year. Only 4 percent planned to spend the full year abroad.

These numbers come from one survey of American workers, fielded in April 2025. They say little about how many nomads live abroad.

Some websites quote 35 to 40 million nomads worldwide. Those figures come without a clear survey method, so this guide does not use them. MBO published its 2026 State of Independence study on September 28, 2026, but the study counts independent workers in general. At the time of writing in November 2026, the newest nomad-specific count is the 2025 figure.

How the Lifestyle Works Day to Day

Daily life depends on the work, the pace of travel, and the setup at each stop.

• Work: The main fields include information technology, creative services, sales, marketing, finance, and consulting. About 49 percent of nomads report earning money in the creator economy, which means making and sharing online content.
• Pace: The average nomad visited 6.2 places in 2025, down from 7.2 in 2023. Stays grew from 5.4 weeks to 6.4 weeks per stop over the same years. MBO calls the slower style “slomading,” and some cities suit long, slow stays better than others.
• Workspace: 85 percent of nomads say their work depends on digital connections and technology. A weak connection can ruin a stay, so it helps to find reliable wifi speed before booking a stay.
• Time zones: 21 percent of nomads name working across time zones as a difficulty. The guide to managing client meetings across time zones covers the practical side.
• Housing: A stay of about six weeks fits a monthly rental or a coliving space better than a hotel. The guide to choosing a coliving space compares the options.
• Health cover: Nomad plans often run as subscriptions. SafetyWing’s Essential plan costs US$62.72 per 4 weeks for ages 10 to 39. That is about $2.24 per day, according to its website on November 3, 2026. The plan covers new and unexpected health problems for up to 364 days at a time. It also covers up to 30 days of care in the home country. It excludes pre-existing conditions, maternity care, and cancer treatment. The Complete plan adds routine care and costs $177.50 per month for ages 18 to 39. The guide to health insurance plans for digital nomads compares more providers.

Most of these choices follow from one fact. Nomads now stay about six weeks in each place, so a stop looks more like a short move than a holiday.

Visas, Taxes, and Employer Rules

The legal side differs by country, so this section stays at overview depth.

• Tourist or visa-free entry: These entry rules are written for visits. Whether remote work is allowed on them depends on the country, and some countries have no clear rule. EY lists Aruba and Saint Lucia as places that promote remote work but have no immigration law for it, as of early 2026. The guide to digital nomad visa vs tourist visa explains the choice.
• Nomad visas: EY counted more than 48 jurisdictions with a digital nomad or remote work visa as of February 2026. Europe holds 40 percent of the programs, the Americas 29 percent, Asia-Pacific 19 percent, and Africa and the Middle East 12 percent. MBO Partners reports 64 countries. Counts differ across trackers, partly because each one decides which programs to include. Some programs have ended, and EY lists Anguilla, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Seychelles as suspended. The roundup of countries with official nomad visa programs gives a starting list.
• Common visa terms: EY says applicants usually show a job or self-employment and meet an income minimum. They also hold health insurance and earn nothing from inside the host country. Greece, for example, bars work for Greek companies. Spain bars pay from Spanish sources. One exception lets self-employed people spend up to 20 percent of their time on Spanish clients. Income minimums differ widely, as the guide to visa income requirements by country shows.
• Day limits: The Czech Foreign Ministry states that short stays in the Schengen area cannot exceed 90 days within 180 days. This holds for visa-free stays and short-stay visas. The rule does not apply to people with a long-term visa or residence permit. The guide to the Schengen 90/180 day rule shows how to count.
• Taxes: According to the IRS (page updated June 12, 2026), US citizens and resident aliens who live abroad are taxed on worldwide income. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion can reduce the tax. The person needs a tax home in a foreign country and must pass one of two tests. The bona fide residence test needs residence abroad for an uninterrupted period that includes a full tax year. The physical presence test needs 330 full days abroad in any 12 consecutive months. The guide on how US citizens file taxes while working abroad goes deeper. Other countries set their own residency tests. Readers from other countries can start with UK tax rules, Canadian tax rules, or Australian tax rules.
• Employer rules: In MBO’s 2025 data, 13 percent of nomads with traditional jobs said their employer does not know they are nomadic. Another 18 percent had a boss’s permission but no company policy. Together, nearly one-third are “hidden nomad employees,” and working from another country can break local employment rules without the employer knowing.

This section gives general information only and is not legal, tax, or immigration advice. The official government page or a qualified adviser gives the final answer for each case.

What Is Hard About the Lifestyle?

Most nomads report high satisfaction, but few stay for long.

• Satisfaction: In MBO’s 2025 data, 82 percent of nomads said they were highly satisfied with their work and 12 percent were satisfied. Only 3 percent were dissatisfied. About 81 percent were satisfied with their income.
• Top challenges: Nomads named being away from family and friends (26 percent) and financial stress (26 percent). Personal safety (25 percent), travel burnout (23 percent), time zones (21 percent), and loneliness (19 percent) followed. The guides on avoiding burnout and building community as a solo nomad cover two of these.
• Staying power: Only 11 percent have been nomads for more than five years, and 73 percent for three years or less. MBO estimates that 19 to 22 percent of nomads return to a traditional lifestyle each year. Among former nomads, 25 percent say they will return and 59 percent say they may.

The lifestyle suits people whose work runs fully online and whose employer or clients accept their location. It also needs steady income to pay for travel and insurance. People tied to one place, or with jobs that need in-person work, may find it harder. MBO surveys American workers only, so results may differ in other countries.

A Common Mistake: Checking the Rules Last

Many new nomads plan the trip first and check the rules later. The numbers above show why this is risky. Nearly one-third of employed nomads in MBO’s data work without a formal policy or without telling their employer. The IRS day test also shows that day counts can affect tax. A written approval from the employer and a look at the local entry rule take little time and reduce the risk.

What to Check Before a First Trip

1. Confirm the work can run online. Check that tools, hours, and clients still work from another country.
2. Get permission in writing. Employees can ask their manager for written approval. The guide to negotiating a permanent remote work arrangement covers the conversation.
3. Read the entry rule for the first stop. Use the official immigration page of that country.
4. Count the days. Keep a log of entry and exit dates. For Europe, the European Commission offers a short-stay calculator for the 90/180 rule.
5. Match insurance to the plan. Check the list of exclusions, including pre-existing conditions.
6. Start with one stay of about six weeks. The average stop in MBO’s 2025 data was 6.4 weeks. The step-by-step beginner’s guide covers the full path from first idea to first trip.

Start Planning Your First Stop

A digital nomad does paid work online while moving between places. The lifestyle works best with portable income, a legal place to stay, and a pace that avoids burnout. Once the first base is picked, search flights to your first stop on FlyBibe and compare options filtered by wifi, visa rules, and cost. A short first stay of about six weeks gives time to test the setup before committing to a longer plan.