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Expat Insider - The World Through Expat Eyes

Expat Insider 2018: Continuity versus Change

In 2018, Expat Insider, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive surveys on life abroad, achieved a major milestone for its fifth anniversary: the number of respondents reached a new record high. In total, 18,135 expats from across the globe took part in the survey. They represent 178 nationalities and are living in 187 countries or territories, from over 1,600 participants in Germany to one each in Greenland and Equatorial Guinea, providing a unique insight into life abroad in 2018.

The higher number of respondents means that the league tables cover even more expat destinations: 68 in the overall ranking and 50 in the Family Life Index. The country rankings list the best (and worst) among 68 destinations across the globe, focusing on essential topics: quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, family life, personal finance, and cost of living. The 2018 ranking is also based on an increased number of individual rating factors (48) for evaluating everyday life abroad and features a new topic in the Quality of Life Index: digital life.

For information on this new subcategory and much more, take a look at the world through expat eyes and explore the detailed results below.

Ranking and Reports

Want to know whether Bahrain managed to defend its first place of 2017? Or interested to hear what happened to Sweden? In the twelve reports below, you can find an in-depth analysis of the biggest winners and losers, insights regarding the best and worst expat destinations, and focus articles on specific topics.

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City Ranking: What Expats Think of Urban Life

We have also asked specific questions about the cities our respondents live in: What do they think about the available leisure options in their city? Is housing affordable for expats? How do they rate the local economy?

The Expat Insider 2018 city ranking provides an in-depth analysis of 72 cities around the world. The results focus on the quality of urban living, on getting settled, urban work life, as well as finance and housing — giving an overview of the best and worst cities for expats worldwide.

Country & Regional Reports: Your Country Through Expat Eyes

We have taken a closer look at various expat destinations, featuring 16 country profiles of major expat destinations, from Austria to the USA, as well as four regional reports that cover Australia and New Zealand, six GCC States, four of the Nordic countries, and the four Asian Tigers.

Read on to find out what expat life is like around the world!

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Nationality Reports: Expats Around the World

From unexpectedly romantic Germans and noticeably younger-than-average Indians to retired Swiss expats and the Spanish moving abroad for work, the following ten nationality reports give a closer look at expats around the world.

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Infographics

The Expat Insider infographics below provide a handy visualization of some of the most interesting results, information on survey respondents, and more details on what factors into the overall ranking. Click on the images below to see the full-size infographic.

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