EXPAT STUDY: Spain comes almost rock bottom for income but top for quality of life

SPAIN has made it into the top 15 as one of the best countries in the world but with a mixed review, a recent expat study has revealed.

Although it dropped three places since 2017, the country that offers sun, sea and Sangria is still keeping expats happy, as respondents awarded Spain 14th place, in HSBC’s 11th Expat Explorer survey.

Singapore has been chosen for the fourth year running as expats’ overall number one destination, with higher salaries, more work opportunities and excellent education.

In the category of economic well-being, Spain has finished almost last at number 27 out of 30 countries reviewed, with expats earning less than the collective average of all nations considered.

Switzerland unsurprisingly takes the top spot in the category, ahead of Germany and Singapore, while Turkey came in last.

The study is based on expat interviews with some 22,000 professionals from 163 different countries, analysing three key areas – economy, quality of life and family.

The country performed very poorly in areas of entrepreneurship, income, promotion opportunities, job security and a lack of saving possibilities.

But despite the apparent financial woes of expats, the country jumps up to second place for high quality of life, just losing out to New Zealand and ahead of Taiwan, with Brazil finishing bottom of the pile.