Expat group InterNations has published its Expat Insider survey for 2023, detailing the best and worst countries for expats to move to and live in.

The survey offers in-depth information on expats’ satisfaction with the quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, and personal finance in their respective country of residence.

The target audience included all kinds of expats, from foreign assignees – i.e., employees sent on a corporate assignment abroad – and international hires to self-made expats relocating for a better quality of life and a variety of other reasons.

A total of 12,065 expats participated in the survey, representing 171 nationalities and living in 172 countries or territories worldwide. In 2023, 53 destinations met the requirements.

Participants were asked to rate up to 56 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of one to seven. The rating process emphasised the respondents’ personal satisfaction with these aspects, considering both emotional topics and more factual aspects with equal weight.

Mexico, Spain and Panama make up the top three destinations, and they all rank very well in the Ease of Settling In and the Quality of Life Indices.

By comparison, the bottom three destinations, including Kuwait (53rd), Norway (52nd), and Türkiye (51st), all perform poorly in terms of friendliness, personal finances, and job satisfaction for expats.

While Kuwait ranks among the worst destinations worldwide for all factors, expats in Norway struggle with the cost of living, and those in Türkiye are unhappy with the working hours (almost twice the global average) and job security.

The full top 10 list of the best countries for expats includes:

1. Mexico

2. Spain

3. Panama

4. Malaysia

5. Taiwan

6. Thailand

7. Costa Rica

8. Philippines

9. Bahrain

10. Portugal

South Africa

South Africa (48th) was ranked as one of the worst places to live out of the 53 countries, alongside Kuwait, Norway, Türkiye, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, and Japan.

Notably, the country has dropped two places compared to 2022 (46th) and declined even further in some key indices.

South Africa lands among the bottom 10 in the Working Abroad (50th) and Quality of Life (49th) indices, dropping four and six places, respectively.

The country does slightly better for personal finance (24th) but comes 36th in the Expat Essentials Index. Expats found it hard to get a visa and struggle when dealing with the local bureaucracy ranking dead last in the 53rd position.

While increased and relentless load shedding experienced in 2022 and early 2023 garnered some negative feedback from expats, safety and security is the main factor driving South Africa towards the bottom of the list, the report showed.

Expats appreciate the weather, the natural environment, and to a lesser degree, the rating factors in the Leisure Options Subcategory (e.g., culinary variety & dining options).

However, sunshine and good food cannot make up for some serious safety concerns, said the report.

South Africa ranks last (53rd) in safety, while expats are also very dissatisfied with the Travel & Transit Subcategory.

When respondents were asked how they feel about their security in South Africa, the majority perceived their personal safety situation in South Africa as very unsafe. People rate the risk of falling victim to petty crime (such as pickpocketing or minor theft) as very high.

Additionally, they consider the chance of being the victim of violent crime (including mugging) very high, and they rate confidence in the police force and related local authorities as very low.

While InterNations noted that these perspectives are based on subjective responses, data from the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA)’s latest quarterly State of Security (SoS) supports their concerns.

According to the data, Only 31% of South Africans feel either ‘mostly safe’ or ‘completely safe’ in the country – meaning 69% of the remaining respondents do not feel safe in South Africa. 

The report showed that, of this 69%, 37% of citizens feel either ‘barely safe’ (22%) or ‘not safe at all’ (15%), while the rest (32%) only feel ‘somewhat safe’ living in the country.

Even in their own homes, the findings showed that 36% of people indicated that they either feel only ‘somewhat safe’ (29%) or ‘not safe at all’ (7%). By contrast, 30% of respondents said they feel ‘safe’, 20% feel ‘very safe’, and only 14% feel ‘extremely safe’ in their homes.

Disturbingly, despite some feeling safe, the report further noted that 76% of all respondents indicated being victims of a crime over their lifetime in South Africa.

source:Why South Africa ranks as one of the worst places to live right now – BusinessTech