Bahrain expat heaven: Survey

Manama : Bahrain has been ranked the best destination for expatriates in the world, according to Expat Insider 2017 survey conducted for InterNations.

Bahrain topped the list of 65 countries that were part of the survey.  The Kingdom made a huge leap swapping last year’s 19th spot for this year’s first. The nation’s ease of settling in and career satisfaction were noted as the reason for its high ranking. In addition to Bahrain, this year’s top 10 destinations for expats are Costa Rica, Mexico, Taiwan, Portugal, New Zealand, Malta, Colombia, Singapore, and Spain.

In contrast, some of Bahrain’s close neighbours fared poorly. Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were in the bottom ten of the list. 

Bahrain was given high marks by its expats as a place to work and raise family. Nearly 9 in 10 expats (87 per cent) said they are happy with their lives in Bahrain, a country that offers them everything they need, the survey said. 12,519 expatriates representing 188 nationalities took part in the survey.  The survey quizzed the respondents on five categories namely quality of life, ease of settling in, ease of working abroad, family life and personal finance. Bahrain really excels in making expats feel at home and the country tops the ‘ease of settling-in’ index. It also comes first for being able to get by without learning the local language.    

One Kyrgyz respondent said he liked Bahrain as its people are very friendly and welcoming. 

“Everyone speaks English. In fact, a quarter of expats in Bahrain say they started feeling at home almost straight away. This is particularly impressive given that a third of respondents in Bahrain have never lived abroad before. Respondents are also happy with their careers. Not only does Bahrain rank third in the Working Abroad Index, it is also second in Job and Career as well as Work-life balance subcategory. Expats in Bahrain are less positive, however, about the state of the economy,” the report stated.

“Many respondents praised the country, one American expat called it a ‘beautiful melting pot of many different cultures’ and another respondent from the Philippines said it was their ‘home away from home’. 

“With such glowing reviews, it is no surprise that almost a third of expats see themselves staying in Bahrain for more than five years, and 11 per cent say they might stay forever,” the report stated.