Singapore is the best place for expatriates globally, while Switzerland tops the ranking in terms of earnings, at about $1,88, 275. India is not far behind, with salary for expats pegged at just above $1,40,000, according to the HSBC Expat survey 2016.
The salary for expats in Switzerland is almost twice the global average, making the European country the best place to live in.
Singapore is the best country overall, for the seond time in a row, ahead of Scandinavian and European countries, though it is below Switzerland from a salary perspective. India dropped from 17 in 2015 to 26 in 2016.
Key highlights of the HSBC Expat Explorer 2016 survey:
Singapore ranks at the top
For the second year in a row, Singapore tops as the best overall destination, followed by New Zealand and Canada. Singapore ranks first in the overall Expat Explorer country league table as the best place to live, work and raise a family.
Over three in five (62%) expats living in Singapore say they are earning more and 66% agree that their quality of life is better. Expats living in Singapore also enjoy higher incomes: $139,000 per year on average, compared to the global average of $97,000.
Singapore also stands out as a good place to raise a family, taking the third place in the Family league table. Three quarters (75%) of expats rate the quality of education as better than in their home country, while only 6% say it is worse.
India, as viewed by expats
At 26, India dropped 9 places from its 2015 ranking of 17.
Expats praise India as a good destination to pursue a career, start a business or achieve their long-term financial goals.
Nearly two thirds (64%) of expats are confident in the Indian economy, above the expat average of 52% across Asia-Pacific. More than half (53%) of expats in India also have confidence in the political stability of the country, above the average of 48% across Asia-Pacific.
In comparison to other countries in the region, India has the highest proportion of expats on an international secondment or assignment. A third (33%) of expats in India have been relocated to the country by their employer, more than in regional financial hubs such as Hong Kong (26%) and Singapore (22%), and above the Asia-Pacific average of 17%.
India is also a popular destination for expat entrepreneurs. More than one in ten (11%) expats in the country moved here to set up a business, more than twice the average of 5% across Asia-Pacific. India also draws more expat entrepreneurs than countries in the Middle East, such as Bahrain (7%) and the UAE (5%).
Expats in India are also able to save more, with 44% saying that living here have accelerated their progress towards making longterm savings and investments, compared with 39% across the region.
Expats are a happy lot
Globally, most expats find living abroad to be a positive experience. Over half (52%) agree that their quality of life has improved since moving and 61% say they are integrating well with the local people and culture.
Why millenials relocate
Nearly a quarter (22%) of expat millennials (aged 18-34) say they moved abroad to build a career.
Expat millennials are also more likely to achieve greater job satisfaction, with nearly half (49%) saying they find their work more fulfilling in their host country than it was at home, compared with 14% who find it less so.
The Expat Explorer surveys countries after collating views of expats about economics, experience and family, with 27 questions.
"In the ninth edition of this annual survey, nearly 27,000 expats from 190 countries and territories shared their thoughts and experiences of expat life, creating the 2016 Expat Explorer report, Achieving ambitions abroad," Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat, said in his foreword to the report.
