UAE scores high with expat satisfaction levels

Staff Reporter / 31 October 2013

Increased job prospects, higher salaries and confidence in the local economy are some of the reasons which draw expats to the UAE. 

Majority of expats in the UAE believe that their children are safer here than in their home countries, according to a recent HSBC survey.
While increased job prospects, higher salaries and confidence in the local economy are some of the reasons which draw expats to the UAE, some respondents have mentioned the rising cost of living in the country as one of the drawbacks.
Expat Explorer 2013, a survey of over 7,000 respondents across 100 countries and close to 800 people in the UAE, assesses expat attitudes towards their host countries.
This year’s survey revealed that 80% expats in the UAE are satisfied with the state of the local economy, in comparison to the global average of 56%, making the country one of the most attractive for expats in the world.
The survey highlighted 60% expats chose to move to the UAE because of “better job prospects,” compared to the global average of only 36%.
Expats also cited the higher salaries in the UAE as one of the primary factors drawing them to the country.
The survey also showed that 56% expats in the UAE associate the country with higher salaries, compared to the global average of 27%. Salaries are expected to increase by a further 5% in the country next year, according to recent research by Aon Hewitt.
73% expats believe that the financial status on their households has improved upon relocation as compared to the global average of 59%.
The UAE also ranked highly as a place to bring up children, scoring the highest amongst GCC countries, in terms of quality of education, childcare services and changes in children’s behavior. Although some challenges faced include the higher cost of education, the country scored much higher on safety as almost three quarters of expats (72%) feel that their children are safer in the UAE than their home countries, compared to a global average of 57%.

Despite these positive sentiments, expats highlighted the high cost of living in the UAE, where people had among the lowest levels of disposable income (ranked 27th out of 37 countries) compared to the other countries surveyed. With rising rents and property prices, inflation is also a concern for expats. Further indicative of the high cost of living is the rise in consumer prices, growing by 1.26% year-on-year in September according to the National Bureau of Statistics. -news@khaleejtimes.com