The 2011 HSBC Expat Explorer survey results show Thailand on top
Almost everyone loves wide-sweeping survey results and if you are an expat or considering becoming an expat then it’s likely you’ll be interested in the 2011 HSBC Expat Explorer survey. The full results will be released later in November, but there is a preview out now and I must say that in many ways it adds more confusion than clarity to the picture.
The huge global banking corporation surveyed 3,385 expats from (only) 31 countries and they use the results to rank each country by a variety of different criteria. The preview only gives results for the combined ranking for each country, and the list is in many ways quite bizarre.
Thailand tops the table
Assuming they did the 2011 survey before half the country became flooded for months on end, it’s actually very reasonable that Thailand could be on top. I spent almost half of last year there between Bangkok and Chiang Mai and those cities definitely combined low costs with decent weather and a great number of opportunities. There are some international jobs there, especially in Bangkok, but honestly I’m quite sure that Thailand is most popular among those who are retiring early with a pension that they want to stretch in a warm climate.
The next four on the list are hard to accept without seeing the individual components that made up the score. Number two is Saudi Arabia, which is well known as a country where foreigners can earn high wages in some fields, but recently the country has decided to get rid of up to 3 million expats to protect the local job market.
Next up is Egypt, which isn’t really known as an expat haven unless you are one of the thousands working at the massive US Embassy in Cairo. There have been major security issues there since almost the beginning of the year, and lots of uncertainty going forward, so how is Egypt so popular in 2011?
The number 4 slot belongs to Singapore, which topped the list last year. Singapore is certainly one of the world’s most accommodating expat countries so it makes sense at or near the top of the list, but what could possibly have pushed it below Saudi Arabia and Egypt this year?
The last of the headscratchers in the top group is Switzerland at #5. If you happen to work for a global bank or some other international conglomerate and you have your salary in Swiss Franc then the astonishingly high prices for everything aren’t a big problem, but for everyone else, including most of the Swiss themselves, they are a problem, especially this last year.
The full Top 10
- Thailand
- Egypt
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Switzerland
- Mexico
- Philippines
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- Malaysia
The rest of the Top 10 are less puzzling, however, the bottom 5 slots in the field of 31 countries belong to United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands in absolute last place. I’ve spent a lot of time in all of these countries and I’ve lived in the Netherlands so I feel qualified to say that this is unexplainable.
Those last 5 countries are indeed expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as Switzerland, and they are quite easy to deal with as well. This whole survey seems like it might be interesting if you take each criteria (economic prospects, lifestyle, climate) on their own, but combining them all is madness.