DOHA: Expatriates in the Middle East have higher levels of satisfaction in the state of the economy of their respective host countries and have higher disposable income since relocating to their current country, compared with expats globally. However, despite the positive outlook, many Middle East expats are looking either to relocate from their current country or seriously planning to leave their home country for good, revealed HSBC’s annual expat survey.
The survey found 89 percent of expats in Qatar are happy with the state of their host country’s state of economy and have higher rate of disposable income since relocating to Qatar. Oman has the highest rate of ‘happy expats’-90 percent. Roughly two-thirds of expats in Qatar (67%), Bahrain (66%), and Oman (65%) have reported higher disposable income since relocating to their current country, compared with only 52 percent of expats globally.
“Despite the positive outlook, many expats are actively looking to leave the region. Roughly one third of expats in Saudi Arabia (34%), Qatar (30%) and Oman (29%) are actively looking to leave their current country for either another posting or to return back to their home country, compared to just over one in ten (13%) globally”, the report noted.
The desire to leave doesn’t seem to indicate that expats are unhappy in their current posting. Instead, the survey shows that many expats who head to the region retain a much stronger affiliation with their home country than expats in general (Qatar, 90% identify strongly with their home country; Saudi Arabia, 90%; UAE, 88%; Bahrain, 87% and Oman, 77%). This suggests that many expats always intended to move to the region for a set period of time, potentially to take advantage of the higher income available, before moving elsewhere or back to their home country.
Southeast Asia has come to the fore as a leading destination for expat earning potential according to the Expat survey. The largest global survey of expats shows that Singapore this year tops the Expat Explorer Economics league table, which ranks countries based on a number of factors such as earning levels, disposable income and ability to accumulate luxuries. Four additional countries in the region also make the top ten, including Thailand (3rd), Hong Kong (4th), China (7th) and Vietnam (10th).
In the midst of wider global turmoil, expats in Southeast Asia continue to benefit from increased earnings with Singapore holding the largest proportion of wealthy expats of any country. More than half (54%) of Singapore-based expats who took part in the Expat Explorer survey earn more than US $200,000 per year, compared to a global survey average of only 7 percent.
Expats across Europe have reported feeling the impact of the Eurozone storm but those in Spain are feeling the effects most acutely. Commenting on the findings, Dean Blackburn, Head of HSBC Expat said:“While Southeast Asia has historically been a popular choice for those looking for increased quality of life, we’re also seeing a steady increase in the levels of expat wealth heading to the region. These two factors combined indicate that the region is fast becoming an all-round top expat destination.”
The Peninsula
