Viet Nam was voted as the second-best destination for expats to live and work in 2019, revealed the latest Expat Insider survey published by InterNations.

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)

The country moved up 12 steps in just one year from the 14^th out of the 68 destinations last year, said InterNations, the world’s largest expat community with 3.6 million members, in the survey.

Viet Nam is only behind China’s Taiwan which secures the first place, and followed by Portugal.

Expats are particularly happy with their career prospects (68 percent satisfied vs. 55 percent globally) and their jobs in general (74 percent satisfied vs. 64 percent globally) in Viet Nam, the survey reported.

Viet Nam is not only the highest-ranking place when it comes to working abroad but it is also the best destination for personal finance (1^st out of 64), it said.

In fact, 81 percent of expats are happy with their financial situation (vs. 64 percent worldwide), and 75 percent state that their disposable household income is more than they need to cover daily costs (vs. 49 percent globally).

This might be partially because living in Vietnam is also considered affordable: 86 percent of expats rate the cost of living positively (vs. 47 percent globally).

“It is a very inexpensive country, and the people are nice and simple,” the survey quoted an Australian expat as saying about Viet Nam.

On the other hand, Viet Nam lags behind in terms of digital life (51^st), as, for example, just about half the expats (52 percent) find it easy to pay without cash (vs. 79 percent globally).

Also in the top 10 best destinations are two other Southeast Asian places – Singapore (6th) and Malaysia (9th), while the worst for expats include Kuwait, Italy and Nigeria.

For its annual Expat Insider survey, the InterNations asked 20,259 expats representing 182 nationalities and living in 187 countries or territories to provide information on various aspects of expat life, as well as their gender, age, and nationality.

The respondents’ ratings are based on six topical indices: quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, family life, personal finance, and cost of living.

(Source: VNA)