ShareKUWAIT: Kuwait is the worst country for expatriates to live and work in among 53 destinations, according to a recent report that gauges performance of countries based on parameters that include quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, personal finance and expat essentials.
Kuwait ranks last in InterNations’ 2023 Expat Insider ranking, following a trend of very poor performances across the past 10 years of the survey, the company’s report indicates. Kuwait had also finished in last place in last year’s ranking as it performs poorly in most areas, according to InterNations founder Malte Zeeck. “Kuwait not only placed last in both 2022 and 2023, but it has consistently ranked among the worst-rated countries for the past decade,” he said in an interview with Forbes.
The country ranks last globally for quality of life (53rd), the report reads, saying expats are especially unhappy with their leisure options. About half (49 percent) feel like they cannot openly express themselves and their opinions, more than triple the global average (15 percent), according to the report. The availability (47th), affordability (45th) and quality (46th) of healthcare also leave a lot to be desired, reads the report.
Difficulty making friends
“Bottom three rankings in the local friendliness (52nd), finding friends (51st), and culture and welcome (53rd) subcategories lead to a last-place spot in the ease of settling in index (53rd),” the report explains. More than one in three expats (36 percent) find it hard to get used to the local culture (vs 18 percent globally), and only 37 percent are happy with their social life in Kuwait, compared to 56 percent globally, the report says, adding, “Kuwait does not escape the bottom 10 in the working abroad index either (48th).” According to the report, three in 10 (30 percent) in Kuwait feel that they are not paid fairly for their job (vs 19 percent globally), and 45 percent say the local work culture does not support flexibility (vs 18 percent globally).
The report further indicates that Kuwait does not perform well in the expat essentials (40th) and personal finance (38th) indices: Just 34 percent are happy with the general cost of living (vs 44 percent globally). On the positive side, only 15 percent of expats in Kuwait struggle to find housing, compared to 31 percent globally, and more than half (54 percent) find it easy to live there without speaking the local language (vs 50 percent globally), the report points out. Overall, only 43 percent of expats are happy with their life in Kuwait, compared to 72 percent globally, says the report.
“The overall Expat Insider survey ranking is based on up to 56 different rating factors, and in 2023, Kuwait ends up in the bottom five of more than 30 of them,” Zeeck says. “So, it’s no wonder that only 43 percent of expats are happy with their life in Kuwait, compared to a global average of 72 percent, with the low level of general satisfaction also impacting Kuwait’s final ranking overall.”
Bahrain best in GCC
Bahrain ranks as the best country for expats among GCC states on the list, and ninth overall, followed by the UAE (11th), Oman (12th), Saudi Arabia (28th), Qatar (31st) and finally, Kuwait (53rd). The 10th annual Expat Insider survey ranks Mexico as the best place to live for expats, followed by Spain, Panama, Malaysia and Taiwan, in order. Thailand, Costa Rica, Philippines, Bahrain and Portugal round up the top 10. The bottom 10 expat destinations are Japan, New Zealand, Malta, Italy, South Africa, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, Norway and Kuwait.
More than 12,000 expats participated in the InterNations’ online survey representing 171 nationalities and living in 172 countries or territories worldwide. For a country to end up on the list, a sample size of at least 50 survey respondents must participate in any of the indices and the overall ranking. Only 53 destinations met this requirement for the 2023 index.
