Bahrain wins best expat destination after massive improvement

Results of a recent survey crowned Bahrain as the most favoured world destination for expats after its huge improvements over last year’s results.

The recent InterNations Expat Insider Survey came up with a surprising result when it named Bahrain as the expat favourite out of 65 countries. The tiny Gulf State kingdom soared from 19th place in 2016 to a well-deserved first place in the 2017 survey. The remainder of the Gulf States may well have good cause to be ashamed, as the UAE was ranked 26th, Qatar only made it to 58th, Saudi Arabia came in at 61st, and Oman was ranked at 17th. Kuwait, of course, was third to last with a ranking of 64th.

According to the survey, Bahrain’s major strength was its excellent reputation for welcoming newcomers, unusual if not unheard of in the Gulf State region. The little country also scored tops in the important ‘ease of settling in’ index, and the equally important issue of getting by without having to learn the tricky local language also received a number one spot. As regards career satisfaction, survey respondents said they were very happy with the progress of their careers since they’d relocated to Bahrain, thus placing the country in third place in Working Abroad category as well as second place in the index covering Jobs and Careers.

Bahrain also did well in the Work-Life Balance subcategory, gaining second place, with almost the only negative result occurring in the sector dealing with the state of its economy. Even so, it gained 25th place out of the 65 countries surveyed, and just 18th in the category covering Job Security. Cost of living ratings remained the same as in 2016, whilst the Personal Finance score came in at 13th against the 2016 result of 26th place. Some 41 per cent of respondents said they earned far more than at home, with over two-thirds of respondents saying they’re generally satisfied.

Considerable improvements were also seen in the Family Life index as well as in Bahrain’s quality of education, which jumped from 22nd place to sixth. Availability of a good education as well as childcare moved from 32nd place to a respectable 11th. It seems Bahrain is one of the few Gulf States which genuinely values the input by expat professionals and its positive effect on the economy in general. Compared with the remainder of the region’s oil-rich states, it seems Bahrain truly deserves its top position in the survey.