Solar payback ranked: the best and worst countries to go solar in 2026

For each country we run the same 5 kWp, 35°-tilt system through our public engine, facing the equator (due south in the northern hemisphere, due north in the southern). PVGIS climate data gives the yield at a large city chosen to represent where the country's people live: of its ten biggest cities, the largest whose yield is within 3% of the population-weighted yield of all its cities of 300,000+ (UN World Urbanization Prospects), not the geographic centre, which can sit in mountains or empty interior. The country's verified retail tariff, export rate, install cost and incentive (see DATA_SOURCES.md) give the economics. Only the country changes. Ranked by year-25 internal rate of return (IRR); payback and NPV are shown in each country's local currency. An estimate, not a quote.

Payback and net cost are shown in each country's local currency, so compare countries on IRR and payback (both currency-independent) rather than on the cash figures. Every input (tariffs, export rates, install costs and incentives) is the verified figure behind our calculator; see the per-country sources in our data notes. Figures are estimates, not quotes.

One caveat on the top result: Mexico's standout return assumes the household is on the high-consumption "DAC" tariff (~6.5 MXN/kWh) with 1:1 net metering, the rate solar adopters there actually face, not the subsidised basic tariff most homes pay. It is the right number for a typical solar buyer in Mexico, but not a universal one.