The Expats Insider 2021 Survey Reveals The Best and Worst Destinations for Living and Working. The worst countries for expats are Kuwait (59th), Italy, South Africa, Russia, Egypt, Japan, Cyprus, Turkey, India, and Malta (50th).
Taiwan, Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, Ecuador, Canada, and Vietnam are the best destinations for expats in 2021.
The Worst Destinations for Living and Working in 2021
59. Kuwait
For the seventh time in eight years, Kuwait (59th out of 59 countries) comes in last place in the Expat Insider 2021 survey. The country ranks last in the Quality of Life Index (59th), with especially poor results in the Leisure Options, Personal Happiness, and Travel & Transportation subcategories (59th for all).
In fact, 58% of expats in Kuwait are unhappy with the local leisure options (vs. 14% globally), and 50% rate the climate and weather negatively (vs. 17% globally). Additionally, 29% state that they are generally unhappy (vs. 10% globally).
Kuwait comes last in the Ease of Settling In Index (59th), with 46% of expats not feeling at home in the local culture (vs. 20% globally) and 45% finding it difficult to settle down in this country (vs. 22% globally).
Moreover, 51% have trouble finding new friends (vs. 32% globally), and 62% find it difficult to make local friends in particular (vs. 36% globally). The country ranks last for friendliness (59th) as well: 36% of expats rate the general friendliness of the population negatively (vs. 16% globally), while another 44% describe the people as unfriendly towards foreign residents (vs. 18% globally).
Placing 56th in the Working Abroad Index, Kuwait performs poorly in both the Work & Leisure (58th) and the Career Prospects & Satisfaction (57th) subcategories. More than three in ten respondents (31%) are dissatisfied with their job in general (vs. 16% globally), and 34% are unhappy with their work-life balance (vs. 17% globally).
58. Italy
Coming in 58th place in the Expat Insider 2021 survey, Italy is the second-worst country for expats — ranking only ahead of Kuwait (59th). In the Personal Finance Index (59th), the Southern European country even lands in last place worldwide: 30% of expats are dissatisfied with their financial situation (vs. 19% globally), 14% even very much so, twice the share of the global average (7%). Furthermore, one in three expats (33%) says their disposable household income is not enough to cover their expenses (vs. 23% globally).
Italy also performs poorly in the Working Abroad Index (58th), only ahead of Turkey (59th), coming last in the Career Prospects & Satisfaction subcategory (59th). More than half the expats (56%) rate their local career opportunities negatively (vs. 33% globally), and 31% are dissatisfied with their job (vs. 16% globally). An Iranian expat shares: “Finding a job is not easy for foreigners, not even for the well-educated ones.”
Within the Quality of Life Index (42nd), Italy ranks worst in the Digital Life subcategory (51st): 23% of expats find it difficult to get high-speed internet access at home (vs. 12% globally), 18% consider it difficult to pay without cash (vs. 9% globally), and 40% are unhappy with the availability of government services online (vs. 21% globally). Overall, there are only few upsides about expat life in Italy, such as the climate and weather (71% happy vs. 66% globally) and the travel opportunities (88% happy vs. 84% globally).
57. South Africa
Coming in 57th place out of 59 destinations in the Expat Insider 2021 survey, South Africa ends up in the bottom 3 — only ahead of Italy (58th) and Kuwait (59th).
It performs worst in the Personal Finance Index (55th): over one-third of expats in South Africa (34%) do not consider their disposable household income enough to cover all their expenses (vs. 24% globally), and just 57% of expats in South Africa are satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 64% globally).
South Africa also ends up among the bottom 10 of the Working Abroad Index (54th), coming last worldwide in the Economy & Job Security subcategory (59th). Only 47% of expats are satisfied with their job security (vs. 61% globally), and less than a third (31%) are happy with the state of the local economy — exactly half the global average (62%).
Ranking among the bottom 10 in the Quality of Life Index (52nd), South Africa ranks last worldwide in the Safety & Security subcategory (59th). More than one-third of expats (34%) do not consider South Africa a peaceful country (vs. 9% globally) and just about one in four (24%) feel safe there (vs. 84% globally). An Ethiopian expat even says: “You are not able to walk around safely.”
However, South Africa does well in the Leisure Options subcategory (15th), with 87% of expats rating the climate and weather favorably (vs. 66% globally). The majority (95%) is also satisfied with the natural environment (vs. 84% globally). “I like the climate, the diverse coastlines, and South Africa’s natural beauty,” summarizes a German expat.
56. Russia
Out of 59 countries in the Expat Insider 2021 survey, Russia (56th) lands in the bottom 10. It performs worst in the Working Abroad Index (52nd): Close to one in four expats (24% each) rate the state of the local economy negatively (vs. 19% globally) and are unhappy with their job security (vs. 20% globally).
Narrowly escaping the bottom 10 in the Quality of Life Index (49th), Russia performs especially poorly in the Quality of the Environment subcategory (49th). Expats are unhappy with the air quality (31% vs. 20% globally), the water and sanitation infrastructure (21% vs. 12% globally), and the natural environment (14% vs. 8% globally). “I do not like the lack of any meaningful efforts or policies to reduce environmental pollution and to support basic recycling,” shares a US American expat.
With Russia coming in 48th place in the Ease of Settling In Index, 29% of respondents find it difficult to settle down in this country (vs. 22% globally). What is more, Russia ends up in the bottom 10 of the Language subcategory (58th), only ahead of Japan (59th).
Nearly half the expats (48%) find it difficult to live in Russia’s cities without speaking the local language (vs. 29% globally), and two-thirds (67%) find it difficult to learn Russian (vs. 42% globally). Russia receives its best result in the Cost of Living Index (25th): 49% of expats rate the cost of living positively, which is, however, still just one percentage point above the global average (48%).
55. Egypt
Egypt (55th out of 59) also ranks the bottom 10 of the Expat Insider 2021 survey. The country performs worst in the Quality of Life Index (57th), where only India (58th) and Kuwait (59th) do worse. In fact, 39% of expats in Egypt rate the water and sanitation infrastructure negatively (vs. 12% globally), and 48% give the air quality a negative rating (vs. 20% globally).
“The air quality is bad, and there are only few green spaces,” shares an Afghan expat. Landing at the very bottom, Egypt performs even worse in the Digital Life subcategory (59th). Exactly three in five expats (60%) rate the availability of government services online negatively (vs. 21% globally), 34% find it difficult to get high-speed internet access at home (vs. 12% globally), and 32% consider it hard to pay without cash (% vs. 9% globally).
Also ending up among the bottom 10 of the Working Abroad Index (53rd), Egypt receives extremely poor results in the Career Prospects & Satisfaction (55th) and Economy & Job Security (53rd) subcategories. A quarter of expats (25%) are dissatisfied with their job in general (vs. 16% globally), and 46% rate the local career opportunities negatively (vs. 33% globally).
The country performs better in the Cost of Living (19th) and Ease of Settling In (30th) Indices: 61% of expats rate the cost of living positively (vs. 48% globally) and 57% find it easy to make local friends (vs. 44% globally).
54. Japan
Japan ranks 54th out of 59 countries featured in the Expat Insider 2021 survey. Performing particularly poorly in the Ease of Settling In Index (58th), Japan only ranks better than Kuwait (59th). Just 36% of expats find it easy to settle down in Japan (vs. 62% globally), and a mere 45% feel at home in the local culture (vs. 63% globally).
In the Working Abroad Index (50th), 30% of expats are unhappy with their work-life balance (vs. 17% globally). A US American expat living in Hashimoto even says that “the work-life balance here is atrocious”. Japan also receives poor results in the Personal Finance Index (54th), with 26% of expats dissatisfied with their financial situation (vs. 19% globally).
On the upside, Japan has an above-average performance in the Quality of Life Index (21st). With the country coming 12th for the quality of the environment, 94% of expats rank the water and sanitation infrastructure positively, compared to 77% globally. Additionally, nearly all expats rate Japan positively for personal safety (97% vs. 84% globally) and peacefulness (95% vs. 80% globally).
A Brazilian expat shares: “In Japan, there is a low crime rate throughout the country. It is very safe to walk on the streets at any time.” And a South African expat says: “Japan offers a safe environment, and most things are done properly with respect for others in mind.”
53. Cyprus
Cyprus lands in the bottom 10 overall, coming 53rd out of 59 destinations in the Expat Insider 2021 survey. It places 57th in the Working Abroad Index — just ahead of Turkey (59th) and Italy (58th). Close to half the expats (49%) are dissatisfied with the local career opportunities (vs. 33% globally), and more than a third (34%) rate the job security negatively (vs. 20% globally).
A Nepalese expat shares: “It is difficult to find work, so I cannot afford college or my living expenses.” In fact, Cyprus also places in the bottom 10 of the Personal Finance Index (57th) and comes last for the disposable household income (59th). Close to two in five expats (39%) say their disposable household income is not enough to cover their expenses abroad (vs. 23% globally).
Cyprus performs best in the Ease of Settling In Index (28th), with 66% feeling at home in the local culture (vs. 63% globally) and 70% describing the local population as generally friendly towards foreign residents (vs. 67% globally). Furthermore, 80% of expats find it easy to get around without knowing the local language(s) (vs. 54% globally).
With Cyprus placing 34th in the Quality of Life Index, the majority of expats (89%) is happy with the local climate and weather (vs. 66% globally) — ranking the destination 5th worldwide for this factor. However, while 70% of respondents are happy with the air quality in Cyprus (vs. 66% globally), 14% rate the water and sanitation negatively (vs. 12% globally).
52. Turkey
Overall, Turkey (52nd out of 59) lands among the bottom 10 destinations in the Expat Insider 2021 survey. Ranking last worldwide in the Working Abroad Index (59th), Turkey ends up in the bottom 10 for every single subcategory: Career Prospects & Satisfaction (56th), Economy & Job Security (58th), and Work & Leisure (59th). In fact, expats in Turkey are dissatisfied with their working hours (32% vs. 16% globally), their job in general (29% vs. 16% globally), and their job security (30% vs. 20% globally). A British expat shares that “for expats, it is extremely difficult to get a work permit”.
Turkey places 32nd in the Ease of Settling In Index, with more than half the expats (53%) finding it easy to make local friends (vs. 44% globally). Most expats consider the local residents to be friendly towards foreign ones (72% vs. 67% globally), and they are happy with the general friendliness of the population too (72% vs. 69% globally). “There is a general warmth and hospitality among the people around me,” shares a Russian expat.
Coming in 35th place in the Quality of Life Index, Turkey ranks among the bottom 10 in the Digital Life subcategory (50th), though: 16% of expats find it difficult to get a local mobile phone number (vs. 7% globally), and 21% have trouble getting high-speed internet at home (vs. 12% globally). The country also lands in the bottom 10 for political stability (54th), with more than a third of expats (35%) rating this factor negatively (vs. 16% globally).
51. India
Coming in 51st place out of 59 countries, India also ranks among the bottom 10 of the Expat Insider 2021 survey. Despite the poor result overall, the country ranks fourth worldwide in the Personal Finance Index: 82% of expats in India are satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 64% globally), and 89% say their disposable household income is enough or more than enough to cover their expenses (vs. 77% globally). Additionally, India places 13th in the Cost of Living Index (69% positive ratings vs. 48% globally).
India performs slightly below average in the Ease of Settling In Index (34th). More than three in five expats (62%) feel at home in the local culture (vs. 63% globally), and 79% say the local population is generally friendly towards foreign residents (vs. 67% globally). However, over half the expats (51%) find it difficult to settle down in India, compared to 22% globally.
India receives the second-worst results worldwide in the Quality of Life Index (58th) — only ahead of Kuwait (59th) — and performs worst in the Quality of Environment subcategory (59th): 67% of expats rate the air quality negatively (vs. 20% globally), and more than half (54%) are unhappy with the water and sanitation infrastructure (vs. 12% globally).
The overall quality of life is also lowered by India’s poor performance in the Safety & Security subcategory (56th). Just 29% are satisfied with the country’s political stability (vs. 64% globally) and just 72% feel safe in India’s cities (vs. 84% globally).
50. Malta
Malta comes in 50th place out of 59 countries in the Expat Insider 2021 survey, performing worst in the Quality of Life Index (54th). It ends up among the bottom 10 in the Quality of the Environment and Travel & Transportation subcategories (56th for both).
More than half the expats in Malta (51%) are unhappy with the transportation infrastructure (vs. 15% globally), and 11% rate their travel opportunities negatively (vs. 7% globally).
“There is no nature at all, no green spaces, poor infrastructure for children, and too much traffic and pollution,” shares an Italian expat. In fact, 38% of expats in Malta are unhappy with the natural environment (vs. 8% globally).
Moreover, 35% rate the air quality negatively (vs. 20% globally), and 25% are dissatisfied with the water and sanitation infrastructure (vs. 12% globally). On the upside, Malta ranks 7th worldwide for its local climate and weather (92% positive ratings vs. 66% globally).
Malta receives below-average results in the Cost of Living and Ease of Settling In Indices (35th for both). In fact, 20% of expats rate the friendliness of the local population towards foreign residents negatively (vs. 18% globally).
Additionally, 37% of expats find it difficult to make local friends in Malta (vs. 36% globally).
