Expat workers prefer Vietnam to Thailand – HSBC survey
Thailand has suffered a slight fall in popularity amongst expat workers, according to a new survey.
According to HSBC’s 2019 Expat Explorer Survey, Thailand ranked in 22nd place, down 1 place from the same survey last year and down 7 places from its rankings in 2017.
The annual survey, now in its twelfth year gathered data from 18,059 expats who had been relocated overseas by their employers via an online questionnaire between March and April this year.
The respondents were asked to give their views on things such as quality of life, political stability, work life balance and disposable income.
The results of this year’s survey echoed many of the findings from 2018.
As a destination for expats, Thailand ranked well in the categories for ‘quality of life’ (9th), ‘physical & mental wellbeing’ (4th), ease of settling in (4th) and cultural, open and welcoming communities (6th).
However, its perceived lack of political stability (22nd) was one negative for expats, as was its lack of fulfillment (33rd) for expats – lower than any other country surveyed.
Some of the other positives to living in Thailand for expats centred around income and the amount of disposable income expats have when living and working here.
A lack of career progression was seen as the major negative for expats working in Thailand, while those with children saw standard of schooling a major issue.
From idyllic islands and verdant scenery to the crowded capital of Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand is a land of contrasts that smiles on expats.
“There’s plenty of sunshine, magnificent beaches and English is widely understood. You can also expect your money to go further. But don’t assume you’ll see first-world standards everywhere you go,” the report said of Thailand.
Regionally, Vietnam, which climbed eight places to 10th, was found to be the most popular country for working expats, ahead of Malaysia (16th), Thailand (22nd), the Philippines (24th) and Indonesia (31st).
Elsewhere, Switzerland was ranked as the best destination in the world for working, beating Singapore to 1st place.
Singapore, which had been ranked in first place for the past four years, dropped down to 2nd, while Canada was ranked 3rd.
With a high quality of life, highly competitive salaries, and stunning surroundings, “Switzerland offers the complete expat package” the report said.
Read the full survey here.
Source: Thaivisa
