Portugal has claimed the tile of the world’s most welcoming country for expats in the latest Internations Expat Insider survey.
It is the first time the Southern European country has topped the company’s annual rankings. Close to every expat living in Portugal (94%) states that they are satisfied with the attitude of locals towards foreign residents. In fact, the general satisfaction levels are far above the average seen in all top-10 destinations combined.
A further 58 per cent of expats in Portugal said it was easy to make friends with the locals, and almost half (47 per cent) plan to stay in the country forever.
Taiwan was the second most welcoming country overall, with close to three-quarters of expats living there agreeing that the Taiwanese are welcoming. Mexico, Cambodia and Bahrain made up the rest of the top five.
In the top ten combined, between 81 and 94 percent of expats rate the attitude of the local population towards foreign residents positively. This compares to 67 per cent globally.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Kuwait stays in last place for the fourth year in a row when it comes to the friendly attitudes of the local population towards foreign residents. Switzerland (63rd) and Austria (64th) do not shine with improved ratings either, as 30 and 35 per cent of expats respectively, rate the attitude negatively.
The annual Expat Insider survey is based on the insights of close to 13,000 expats from 188 countries and territories.
Top ten most welcoming countries for expats (Expat Insiders 2017)
- Portugal
- Taiwan
- Mexico
- Cambodia
- Bahrain
- Costa Rica
- Oman
- Colombia
- Vietnam
- Canada
Article published 27th March 2018