Bank’s survey shows Philippines falling down league of expat destinations

expat destinations
Despite a sharp fall down the rankings of expat destinations, the Philippines scored well when it came to family life and local culture.

The Philippines has dropped down a league table of popular expat destinations, according to a survey conducted by an international bank.

According to the HSBC 2018 Expat Explorer survey published today (Tuesday, October 23) the country is ranked at 28th of 31 countries sampled. Last year, it ranked in 17th place.

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However, the survey still shows that more than half — or 56 per cent — of expats believes the Philippines has “brought them closer to their partners”. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that 64 per cent of respondents said they found their long-time partners in the country.

The survey covered 22,318 expats in 163 countries and territories during an online questionnaire in March and April 2018. HSBC commissioned YouGov to conduct the survey.

A minimum sample of 100 expat respondents and at least 30 expat parents was required for a country to be included in the league table of expat destinations, with 31 countries qualifying in 2018.

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“The Philippines scored fairly in terms of being a great expat destination for families and raising children,” HSBC said.

“Meantime, 56 per cent consider raising children in the Philippines less expensive, as compared to their home country; with 43 per cent even saying that moving here has brought them closer to their children as well and 42 per cent saying overall quality of life for their children is better in the Philippines.”

The bank also noted that expats have always appreciated the Filipino culture, due to its values of “community and respect”. It said that 69 per cent of expats were “integrating well with the local people and culture and feeling like family”.

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At the same time, 58 per cent said it was also easy to form new friendships in the Philippines.

“Expats here also say that they have been welcomed by the Filipinos regardless of faith, race, gender or sexual orientation, which is not a surprise, given the Filipinos’ warmth and hospitality, and the vibrant and friendly local culture,” the bank said.

 

Other expat destinations

Remaining the most popular expat destination this year was Singapore. The bank said: “Singapore packs everything a budding expat could want into one of the world’s smallest territories, ranking 3rd for economics, 5th for families and 6th for experience.”

The city state was followed by New Zealand, Germany, Canada and Bahrain, which all maintained their positions from last year’s survey.

Other Asian countries to feature in the rankings were Taiwan (9), Indonesia (13), Malaysia (15), Hong Kong (17), Vietnam (19), Thailand (21), China (27) and Japan (30).

The UK and the USA took the 22nd and 23rd spots respectively.

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