Taiwan is the best place to work, rest and play for expats, according to a new global survey published today.
More than 14,000 expats representing 174 nationalities and 191 countries or territories responded via the Inter Nations website for the third annual Expat Insider survey, with Taiwan (pictured) knocking previous winner Ecuador off the top of the table.
Inter Nations, a global provider of online resources for expats living abroad, asked respondents a series of questions including those about ease of settling in, family life, personal finance, quality of life and working abroad, among others.
It is the first time that Taiwan has been involved in the survey and in addition to claiming first place out of 67 countries in the overall ranking, it is also in the top ten for every individual index, the company said in a statement (see graphic below). Taiwan holds first place in the “quality of life” and personal finance indices, impressing with the “quality and affordability of its healthcare and the enviable financial situation of expats living there,” the statement said.
The Asian Tiger scores second place in the ‘working abroad’ index with over one third of expats in Taiwan (34%) completely satisfied with their jobs, more than double the global average of 16%. Expats are similarly enthusiastic about their work-life balance (30%) and job security (34%).
Malta, Ecuador and Mexico also popular
Malta has moved up one spot to claim second place, pushing Mexico, last year’s second-place winner, down to fourth place. Similar to Taiwan, Malta is also in the top ten for every index that factors into the overall ranking.
After two years in first place, Ecuador has lost its crown, nevertheless, it has still retained third place for this year. It saw losses in each index, some more striking than others.
Ecuador lost the most ground in the survey’s ‘working abroad’ index. In 2014 it ranked 5th out of 61 and in 2015 it held 7th out of 64, but this year it dropped to 30th out of 67 countries. This is mostly due to its poor finish in the ‘job security’ subcategory, where it comes in 50th place (it was 22nd in 2015), the survey found.
Bottom three
The three countries at the end of the list in 2016 were once again Kuwait, Greece, and Nigeria. Kuwait has remained steadily at the bottom for three years running, Expat Insider said. It even managed to go down in each index this year, most notably in the ‘working abroad’ and ‘personal finance’ indices.
Greece also came in second to last in 2015 while in 2014 it held the third to last spot. It did better in the ‘ease of settling in’ index this year (up to 27th from 41st) but worse in all the other indices that factor into the overall ranking. It’s now last place for the ‘working abroad’ and ‘personal finance’ indices and ranks a 43rd out of 45 countries in the ‘family life’ index.
Click here to view the Expat Insider survey in full.
