Abu Dhabi ranks among best in world
▶ Third successive year for UAE capital as Asian cities lead the InterNations Expat Insider list
Abu Dhabi has been ranked in the top 15 cities in the world for expatriates to live and work in.
Taipei, Taiwan came out on top, out of 82 entrants, followed by three more Asian cities: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Singapore, the latest Expat Insider survey from global network InterNations found.
The survey of 20,000 people measures aspects of urban life abroad including quality of living, getting settled, work, finance, housing and cost of living.
The UAE capital, ranked 15th, – it was 14th last year – has been in the top 15 for three years in a row. In the GCC, Manama came in 21st, Muscat 28th and Dubai took the 34th spot.
Abu Dhabi ranked in the top 15 out of 82 expatriate-friendly cities in the world for the third year in a row, a survey from global network InterNations on the best destinations to live and work abroad found.
The list was dominated by Asian cities, with Taipei in Taiwan leading the ranking for the second year in a row followed by Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Singapore, according to the Expat Insider 2019 study published yesterday. Abu Dhabi came in 15th position in the rankings.
The main indexes measured in the survey of 20,000 people included: quality of urban living, getting settled, urban work-life and finance and housing. Cost of living was also measured, but did not factor into the overall ranking “to avoid over representing financial aspects”, the report said.
“The top 10 cities worldwide all offer different benefits, from cities that are easy to get settled in and places with a great quality of life to destinations that can be particularly beneficial for one’s career,” said Malte Zeeck, founder and chief executive of InterNations, a global network and information site for expatriates with 2 million members in more than 400 cities.
Among the GCC cities surveyed, Manama came in 21st, Muscat 28th and Dubai 34th, a decline since last year from third, 10th and 28th, respectively. Although they did well in terms of ease of getting settled and safety, as well as the availability and affordability of housing, work-life balance was a weakness.
“When it comes to the underlying indexes, the main change can be seen in the urban work life index: all three lost ground in this regard,” Mr Zeeck said. For work-life, Dubai dropped to 71st place from 58th in 2018, Manama to 58th from 13th and Muscat to 73rd from 55th.
“Out of the six GCC cities featured in the Expat City ranking, only Abu Dhabi’s ranking has remained steady with a place in the top 15 for the third year running,” Mr Zeeck said. “Kuwait City, on the other hand, did not rank in previous years due to an insufficient number of respondents and now enters the Expat City ranking in last place in 2019.”
Participants in the online survey were asked to rate more than 25 different aspects of urban life abroad on a scale of one to seven, making up 13 sub-categories. For example, local transport and local leisure options fall under urban living, while job security falls under urban work-life.
Kuwait City’s worst-performing area was in the getting settled index, but it also rated poorly in leisure activities, local climate, local transport and work-life balance. However, 71 per cent of expatriates in the country are satisfied with their financial situation, compared with 57 per cent globally.
Barring Kuwait City, the GCC cities were among the top 25 worldwide for getting settled. Manama, the world’s best expatriate city for getting settled last year, came in second. Muscat followed in fourth, Abu Dhabi in 11th and Dubai in 17th.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai came in second worldwide for the ease of living there without speaking the local language. Nearly nine in 10 expatriates (87 per cent) find this easy, compared with 47 per cent globally. Almost three quarters (73 per cent in Abu Dhabi and 71 per cent in Dubai) said local residents are friendly towards foreign residents (versus 64 per cent globally).
The UAE cities also ranked highly in safety at 97 per cent in Abu Dhabi and 95 per cent in Dubai, compared with the 81 per cent global average. However, only 35 per cent of Abu Dhabi expatriates and less than a quarter of Dubai expatriates (23 per cent) are happy with the local cost of living, compared to 43 per cent globally.
The only North American city in the ranking’s top 10 was Montreal in Canada, which came in fifth. The other five cities making up the top 10 all came from Europe, including Lisbon in Portugal, Barcelona in Spain and The Hague in Netherlands. The bottom 10 cities included Rome, Milan and Paris in Europe; San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York in the US; Lima, Peru; Yangon, Myanmar; and Lagos, Nigeria. Kuwait City came in last place.
Among the factors making Taipei No 1 are 98 per cent satisfaction with local transportation, 96 per cent with safety and 94 per cent with healthcare availability.