Best and worst countries for expats
By Kirsten Hastings, 29 Mar 17
With the clock now ticking on the UK’s departure from the European Union, some people are rethinking their living and employment situation. Click through the slides below to find the best and worst expat destinations, according to research firm InterNations.
In an unexpected result, newcomer Taiwan ousted two-time champion Ecuador and topped the entire list. In addition to taking the top spot, Taiwan was in the top 10 for every individual index.
The survey, of more than 14,000 people from 191 countries, asked about the Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Family Life, Personal Finance, and Cost of Living in their respective expat destinations.
The small island nation was second for overall satisfaction with life abroad, with 93% voicing their general contentment. Taiwan worst performance was in the ‘Ease of Settling in’ index, but it still ranked tenth.
However, nine out of 10 expats said local residents were friendly towards foreigners, compared with only 65% worldwide.
Rounding out the top destinations in Asia Pacific are: New Zealand (5), Australia (7), Vietnam (11), and Singapore (13).
Vietnam was the biggest winner of the whole survey, jumping 24 places from 35 last year. It also made the biggest gains in the ‘Working Abroad’ and ‘Ease of Settling In’ indices.
The region’s worst expat destination was Indonesia, which ranked 52 out of 67, down from 32 a year ago. Other regions to avoid include: India (49), China (48), Hong Kong (44), and Malaysia (38).
Hong Kong has not fared well since the survey was first conducted in 2014, when it was ranked 10. After dropping 16 places in 2015, the special administrative region fell another 18 spots in 2016. The ‘Personal Finance’ index took a major hit, with the ‘Ease of Settling In’ and ‘Working Abroad’ indices also doing badly.
Survey participants in Hong Kong did not consider themselves to be nearly as financial well-off as they did a year ago.
