Oman climbs three places to enter top 15 of HSBC’s 2017 Expat Explorer survey

Based on parameter of wage growth alone, Oman is ranked first

Oman climbed three places to enter the top 15 of HSBC’s 2017 Expat Explorer survey, while UAE rose two places to be ranked at 10 but the majority of Gulf peers saw their rankings decrease.

Based on the parameter of wage growth alone, GCC countries top the ranking, with Oman ranked first, Qatar third, Saudi fourth, the UAE fifth, Kuwait sixth and Bahrain at the tenth position.

Singapore has again been rated by expats as the best country in the world to live and work, in the new HSBC Expat Explorer survey.

Singapore saw off competition from Norway, which rose four places to come second. Culturally very different yet both highly-regarded, Singapore and Norway offer expats a stable economic and political environment while giving them a fulfilling experience and an improved family life, the report said.

In the GCC, the UAE was followed by Bahrain, which dropped from ninth to 13th and Oman, which rose from 18th to 15th. Qatar’s position declined from 29th to 31st, while Saudi dipped from 31st to 40th and Kuwait from 35th to 42nd.

The Gulf countries ranked poorly for family and experience than they did for economy, with Bahrain standing in 15th in the family category, the UAE 24th, Oman 32nd, Qatar 41st and Saudi and Kuwait 45th and 46th respectively.

For experience, Oman ranked 11th, Bahrain 15th, the UAE 20th, Qatar 40th, Saudi 42nd and Kuwait 44th.

While for economics, the UAE stood fifth globally followed by Oman in 12th, Qatar in 13th, Bahrain in 17th and Kuwait and Saudi in 21st and 22nd.

Based on wage growth alone, Oman is ranked first, Qatar third, Saudi fourth, the UAE fifth and Kuwait sixth.

Now in its tenth year, the HSBC Expat Explorer survey is the world’s largest and longest running study of expat life, asking more than 27,500 expats about their experience abroad. As well as unveiling the best places in the world to live as an expat, the survey also found that life abroad typically increases expats’ income by 25 per cent, with the average expat earning just under US$100,000 a year. Far from compromising their well-being, expats seem to find the right balance. Four in ten (41 per cent) expats adopt a more positive outlook on life after moving abroad, with 44 per cent becoming more physically active.

The Expat Explorer overall league table ranks each country using a score that summarises expats’ views on economics, experience and family life aspects in their host country.