UAE best for expats in Gulf; takes 6th place in global survey

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The UAE is the highest-ranking country in the Gulf region for expat living in the latest Expat Insider survey by InterNations.

According to the Expat Insider 2022 survey results, Mexico (1st), Indonesia, Taiwan, Portugal, Spain, the UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and Singapore (10th) are the best destinations for expats.

Five destinations stand out with regard to the Ease of Settling In and Personal Finance. They also tend to perform well in the Expat Essentials Index. While they all land just midfield in the Working Abroad Index, their results in the Quality of Life Index are somewhat mixed. Spain (1st), Taiwan, and Portugal make up the top 3 worldwide, but expats in Mexico (24th) and Indonesia (41st) are not satisfied with the local quality of life.

Bahrain came in at 15th spot in the survey this year.

The worst destinations for expats are Kuwait (52nd), New Zealand, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, Italy, and Malta (43rd). Kuwait is among the world’s worst destinations in each individual index as well as in the overall ranking. Moreover, all bottom 5 destinations have an average to poor performance in the Working Abroad and Personal Finance Indices. While Italy is an exception regarding Personal Finance (33rd), it only ranks 48th in the Expat Essentials Index.

The survey offers in-depth information on expats’ satisfaction with the quality of life, ease of settling in, working life, personal finance, and the cost of living in their respective country of residence. Additionally, the respondents share how they have been experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has impacted their life.

The UAE comes 6th out of 52 destinations in the Expat Insider 2022 survey. Expats are particularly pleased with the Expat Essentials Index (2nd). They also rank the Quality of Life (5th) and Working Abroad (5th) very highly. The Ease of Settling In Index (13th) has mostly positive results, while expats struggle a bit with the Personal Finance Index (34th). Overall, 71% of expats are happy with their life in the UAE, the same as the global average (71%).

Out of all the indices, Saudi Arabia ranks best in the Expat Essentials Index (7th out of 52 destinations). The country misses out narrowly on a top 10 placement in the Admin Topics and Housing Subcategories, ranking 11th in each. It also does slightly better than average in the Working Abroad (21st) and Personal Finance (22nd) indices, but lands in 27th place in the overall ranking.

Oman comes 12th out of 52 destinations in the Expat Insider 2022 survey. The country ranks best in the Ease of Settling In and Expat Essentials Indices (5th for both). However, expats are unhappy with regards to Working Abroad (39th) and the Quality of Life (38th). Oman also ranks in a fairly average place for Personal Finance (21st). Overall, 72% of expats are happy with their life in Oman, compared to 71% globally.