For its 11th edition of the Expat Insider survey, InterNations surveyed 12,500 expats representing 175 nationalities living in 174 countries or territories on their thoughts on what it’s like to live and work abroad.
The Expat Insider survey ranks 53 countries across five topical indices. One is a comprehensive “Best and Worst Places for Expats” ranking in which Saudi Arabia ranked #13 making a huge leap from #28 in the 2023 Expat Insider survey.
The other four Index groups are “Quality of Life Index“, “Ease of Settling In“, “Working Abroad” and “Personal Finance“.
Both Arab News and Fast Company featured articles highlighting Saudi Arabia’s performance in the “Working Abroad” index where it finished second to Denmark, up from its 14th position in 2023.
For the “Working Abroad” Index, the Expat Insider survey noted:
“Second-placed Saudi Arabia in the Working Abroad Index is the top destination worldwide regarding expat careers. More than half of respondents in the country (55%) rate the local job market positively (vs. 41% globally), and over three in ten (31%) give it the best possible rating (vs. 12% globally).
Similarly, expats in Saudi Arabia are much more likely to agree that the move there has improved their career prospects (75% vs. 56% globally) and rate their personal career opportunities favorably (62% vs. 53% globally).
“I like how there are work opportunities for highly skilled professionals.” – Spanish expat
This is great news for the 63% who moved to Saudi Arabia for job-related reasons (vs. 35% globally). Once in the country, they’re very much satisfied with the state of the local economy (82% vs. 59% globally), ranking Saudi Arabia 2nd in the Salary & Job Security Subcategory.
The drawbacks of working in Saudi Arabia? Expats face rather long workdays with an average of 47.8 hours a week for full-time positions (vs. 42.5 h globally). This is also reflected in the ranking: the kingdom receives its worst results in the index when it comes to expats’ working hours (23rd) and work–life balance (27th). “
Fast Company adds that, “Beyond the work environment, Saudi Arabia also performs well in the Expat Essentials Index. This index assesses factors like ease of obtaining visas, bureaucracy, housing affordability, and digital infrastructure. Ranking 6th globally, Saudi Arabia surpasses established expat destinations like Singapore, Mexico, Indonesia, and Kenya.”
Kuwait was ranked 53rd (last) for the seventh time in a row.
