“Taiwan is our big winner. It’s the best place for quality of life as well as for personal finances,” Malte Zeeck, founder of InterNations, the world’s largest network for people living abroad, said during an interview with Forbes Aug. 29. “They are doing something very right there.”
The survey covers a wide range of topics and focuses on participants’ happiness regarding a variety of factors related to their countries of residence and personal lives abroad. More than 14,000 respondents representing 174 nationalities took part and answered questions involving issues such as ease of settling in, family life, personal finances, quality of life and working abroad.
Taiwan replaced two-time champion Ecuador to rank at the top of this year’s survey. In addition to claiming first place out of 67 countries in the overall ranking, it is in the top 10 for every individual index.
The results also show Taiwan scored second place in the Working Abroad Index. Around 34 percent of expats in Taiwan are completely satisfied with their jobs, which is more than double the global average of 16 percent. Thirty percent of those surveyed said they are similarly enthusiastic about their work-life balance, with 34 percent reporting the same level of satisfaction regarding job security.
According to the Family Life Index, 43 percent of local respondents have dependent children living with them, which is over twice the global mean of 21 percent. The nation scored highest in the Friendly Attitude toward Families with Children category, with 58 percent rating this as very good, compared with the worldwide average of 39 percent.
Following Taiwan on the list of top 10 expat destinations were Malta, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Australia, Austria, Luxembourg and Czech Republic.
According to the Ministry of Labor, there are more than 31,000 foreign white collar workers currently employed in Taiwan. Nearly 18,000 work in specialized and technical fields, with the remainder working in areas such as education, show business and art, among others. (KH-E)
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