InterNations has ranked Taiwan fifth among nations most favored by expatriates, trailing Mexico, Spain, Panama and Malaysia, the social media platform said in its Expat Insider report.
This year’s report was the 10th published by InterNations, which seeks to “make expat life a great experience.”
The ranking of 53 destinations was based on a survey conducted from Feb. 2 to 28 among 12,065 expats of 171 nationalities living in 178 countries. A country needed at least 50 respondents to be included in the analysis.
Photo: RITCHIE B. TONGO, EPA-EFE
The analysis ranked countries in 56 categories affecting quality of life for expats as reported by respondents, including cost of living, availability of housing, career opportunities, access to high-speed Internet, personal safety and healthcare.
Ninety-one percent of expat resident of Mexico, which was the highest-ranked country in the survey for the second consecutive year, said that they were happy in the country, beating the global average of 72 percent, the report said.
Taiwan, which was second for quality of life, was buoyed on the overall ranking by the nation’s healthcare services, which have consistently topped that category, it said.
About 91 percent in Taiwan reported being satisfied with the affordability of medical care, higher than the 62 percent global average, while 93 percent reported satisfaction with the availability of care, beating the 71 percent global average, it said.
Sixty percent of respondents in Taiwan gave the nation top marks for quality of healthcare, compared with the 35 percent global average, the survey said, adding that South Korea was the only country to receive a higher rating for medical care quality.
Taiwan had a 95 percent approval rating for the affordability of public transportation and 88 percent for its availability, higher than the global averages of 71 and 73 respectively, it said.
No respondents reported feeling unsafe in Taiwan, outperforming the 8 percent global average, while 73 percent in the nation gave personal safety the highest possible rating, it said.
“Taiwan is safe and has low crime. The trains make it easy to travel the island,” a US expat was quoted as saying.
China was 26th on the overall list, the US 30th and Japan 44th, the survey said.
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