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Finding senior talent in saturated markets like San Francisco or London means competing with hundreds of other companies. Meanwhile, countries full of experienced engineers, product managers, and operations specialists might be flying under your radar.
We analyzed over 35,000 remote work contracts across 143 countries to identify which markets are seeing the fastest growth in remote hiring.
#1 Indonesia (+266%)
Indonesia wasn't on most hiring managers' radar three years ago. Today, it's the fastest-growing remote hiring market in our dataset.
The growth coincided with a serious infrastructure buildout: the Palapa Ring fiber network, a new satellite called SATRIA-1, and 4G coverage now reaching over 97% of populated areas brought millions of people online. At the same time, the government's Digital Indonesia Roadmap trained graduates on tools like Figma and GitHub before they entered the workforce.
How to hire in Indonesia
- Think async first. Most Indonesian developers are based in Jakarta, Bandung, or Surabaya, which puts them 12-15 hours ahead of Europe and 7-8 hours ahead of most of Asia-Pacific. Real-time collaboration is hard across that gap. But if you need round-the-clock development or support coverage outside your team's core hours, that time difference works in your favor.
- Budget for mid-level talent at competitive rates. Developer salaries run well below Eastern Europe and Latin America. If you need experienced engineers but those markets are out of budget, Indonesia is worth a serious look.
- Use an from day one. Indonesian authorities may reclassify long-term contractors as employees if they're working full-time under your direction. The tax and social security penalties for getting this wrong aren't worth the risk.
#2 Poland (+183%)
Poland has over 450,000 developers. Technical universities produce graduates who go deep on systems architecture, cybersecurity, and enterprise software. Gaming and fintech companies have been building complex products there for years, and that depth shows in the talent pool.
The market was an outsourcing destination for years, mostly for big consulting firms running delivery centers. That's changing. Direct remote hiring is growing faster, and rates run below Western Europe for engineers who match the quality you'd find in Berlin, London, or Amsterdam.
How to hire in Poland
- Go here for hard technical problems. Poland's sweet spot is complex back-end systems, distributed architecture, security engineering, and enterprise integrations. That level of depth typically costs 30-40% less than comparable talent in Western Europe.
- Time zones work well for European teams. Polish engineers are on European business hours, and East Coast teams in the Americas get 3-4 hours of daily overlap. For Asia-Pacific companies, the overlap is minimal. Poland works best when your core team is in Europe or can run on European hours.
#3 Brazil (+164%)
The real's depreciation against the dollar and euro made Brazilian talent significantly more affordable. That timing coincided with Brazil's tech hubs hitting a certain maturity.
The engineers coming out of São Paulo's fintech scene, Rio's startup community, and Curitiba's software hub think in product terms and work in agile teams, not just developers hired to execute someone else's specs.
How to hire in Braz
- Time zones matter most if you're in the Americas. Brazilian business hours (GMT-3) give near-perfect overlap with teams across North and South America. European companies get 3-5 hours of daily overlap, which works for some roles but not for teams that need constant real-time coordination. For Asia-Pacific, the overlap is minimal.
- Look beyond engineering. Brazil's fintech boom and startup ecosystem built professionals who know how to talk to customers, run product decisions, and ship iteratively. If you need a product team that can own a roadmap end to end, Brazil has those people.
- Don't rely on long-term contractor setups. Workers hired as "PJs" (service entities) who function like employees may get reclassified, and companies face back taxes, fines, and social security penalties.
#4 Tunisia (+155%)
Most markets offer engineers. Tunisia offers engineers who are fluent in French, Arabic, and English. For European companies serving francophone markets or needing Arabic-language coverage, that's a combination most other markets can't match.
Tunisia's growth coincided with European companies that already had BPO operations in Tunis starting to expand those teams into product and engineering roles. Once larger firms proved the market could deliver, smaller remote-first teams started hiring there too.
How to hire in Tunisia
- This market is built for European teams. Tunisia sits one hour ahead of Central European Time, giving seamless overlap with teams in Paris, Berlin, or Amsterdam. For companies in the Americas or Asia-Pacific, the overlap is minimal.
- Expect smaller talent pools than other markets. Tunisia's developer pool is smaller than Brazil or Poland. You're not hiring at scale here. But for engineering, QA, and support roles where language is part of the brief, it delivers.
#5 South Africa (+152%)
South Africa built its reputation in call centers and customer support. That history produced something transferable: senior, English-speaking professionals who already know how to handle enterprise relationships, work across time zones, and communicate with international clients.
Product companies are now hiring those same people as engineers and product managers from Cape Town and Johannesburg directly.
South African salaries became significantly more affordable for international employers as the rand depreciated against hard currencies. High unemployment among educated graduates, meanwhile, created a large talent pool with limited local opportunities.
How to hire in South Africa
- Europe and the Middle East get the best time zone alignment. South Africa is 1-2 hours ahead of Central Europe, giving near-perfect overlap with EU teams. Middle East and East Africa alignment is perfect. East Coast teams in the Americas get 6-7 hours of overlap, which is workable with some schedule flexibility. Asia-Pacific has limited overlap.
- The rand makes rates go further. Salary offers that are competitive internationally stretch further locally. Build some flexibility into your compensation planning for exchange rate movement.
How an Employer of Record Makes Hiring From These Markets Work
Finding talent is the easy part. Employing them legally, without setting up a local entity in every country, is where most companies get stuck.
An Employer of Record removes that barrier. RemotePass becomes the legal employer on paper: you find the talent, manage their work, and stay in full control, while we handle contracts, payroll, taxes, benefits, and local compliance across every market.
Ready to hire the Polish engineer, the Brazilian product manager, and the South African tech lead? Book a 15-minute demo to see how simple global hiring can be.
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