Revealed: Worst countries for expats to live and work in

Kuwait was named the worst country for expats to live and work in, according to a recent InterNations Expat Insider survey.

The survey, which polled more than 14,000 expats globally and rated 64 countries, ranked Kuwait at the 64th position. The Gulf country scored particularly low in the survey’s ease of settling in index with 53 per cent of respondents unhappy with the general friendliness of local residents.

The overall quality of life in Kuwait was also rated as unsatisfactory by many expats, the survey found. The respondents pointed out that the available leisure options were not adequate and that their personal happiness has suffered.

Kuwait only scored comparatively well in categories such as job security and language, ranking 26th and 25th respectively.

Other Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar also made it to the list of worst countries for expats to live and work in. The kingdom was ranked at the 61st place while Qatar took the 54th position in the poll.

Similar to Kuwait, expats pointed out difficulties of integrating with the local residents. Only 49 per cent of expats in Qatar and Saudi Arabia said that they feel welcomed by the local population, compared to 72 per cent globally. Both countries also lack quality childcare and education options, further decreasing their appeal to expats, the poll showed.

The majority of respondents (26 per cent) surveyed said that they relocated to Saudi Arabia due to financial reasons while that figure was slightly lower for Qatar (13 per cent).

Meanwhile countries such as Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman were ranked as more favorable compared to the other Gulf countries. They were ranked much ahead at 17th, 19th and 24th places respectively.

Ecuador, Mexico and Malta were ranked the top destinations for expats to live and work, the survey showed.

Top 10 Worst countries for expats to live and work in

1. Kuwait

2. Nigeria

3. Greece

4. Saudi Arabia

5. Russia

6. Kazakhaztan

7. Italy

8. Brazil

9. Mozambique

10. India