In the latest survey by InterNations, the company collected votes from 14,300 expats, representing 174 nationalities and living in 191 countries or territories, to rate 43 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of one to seven. Some of these aspects include healthcare, safety, childcare, education and the cost of living.
Taiwan leads the list with over one-third of expats in Taiwan (34 per cent) being completely satisfied with their jobs, more than double the global average of 16 per cent. However, Taiwan's worst performance is in the ‘Ease of Settling In’ criteria, coming in at tenth place. Kuwait hits bottom this year as it has consistently done for three years now, going down notably in the ‘Working Abroad’ and ‘Personal Finance’ indices.
| Ranking | Best Countries for Expats | Ranking | Worst Countries for Expats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan | 67 | Kuwait |
| 2 | Malta | 66 | Greece |
| 3 | Ecuador | 65 | Nigeria |
| 4 | Mexico | 64 | Brazil |
| 5 | New Zealand | 63 | Saudi Arabia |
| 6 | Costa Rica | 62 | Egypt |
| 7 | Australia | 61 | Mozambique |
| 8 | Austria | 60 | Qatar |
| 9 | Luxembourg | 59 | Italy |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 58 | Tanzania |
UAE comes in at the 40th position (overall), with one of the biggest drops in rankings this time around (from 19th) owing to drastic decline in indices such as 'Cost of Living' and 'Working Abroad'. Other countries with high declines include Indonesia, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Countries that show drastic jumps in rankings include Vietnam (35 to 11), Uganda (45 to 25) and Finland (51 to 32). India is ranked 49 while Bahrain leads the table among its Middle Eastern counterparts at the 19th position.
