Expat incomes highest in Asia, Middle East

The Expat Economic survey, part of HSBC's Expat Explorer Survey of 4,100 expats from 100 countries, ranked 25 countries on scores linked to annual income, monthly disposable income, and a measure of defined luxuries.

Russia received highest ranking overall in the survey, followed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Singapore.

The third annual report found that expats globally were generally upbeat in their assessment of their financial situation, with 66% saying they have more disposable income in their new country.

Meanwhile, although saving levels amongst expats as a whole have dropped since 2009, 61% of expats are still saving more while working abroad and one in five (20%) are able to pay off more debt than when they lived in their country of origin, the report said.

Qatar boasts the highest percentage of expats being able to save more than in their country of origin (92%) followed by Saudi Arabia (89%) and Bahrain (88%).

Wealth gap widens

The survey also noted that the wealth gap is widening between the East and West, with expats in emerging economies earning significantly more than their counterparts in mainland Europe.

For the second year in a row, expats in Russia enjoyed the highest salaries in the world, with 36% reporting earnings of over $250,000 a year, significantly higher than the global expat average of 13%, the survey showed.

In general, BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries fared well economically over the past year and, as a result, have emerged as promising expat hotspots, the survey noted.

Scores for expats in these countries were higher than average when looking at a number of economic factors including earnings, career development, improved economic outlook and the ability to save.

The situation is much different in mainland Europe. While only 26% of global expats on average earn less than $60,000, the survey found 62% of expats living in Spain earn below that amount, as do almost half of the expats living in France (47%), the Netherlands (47%) and Germany (45%).

UAE sees decline

Focussing on the UAE, the survey revealed that common perks for expats in the country include more cars (63% in UAE vs. 29% overall), more exotic holidays (57% vs. 46%), nicer and larger properties (58% vs. 50%) and domestic help (57% vs 37%).

In addition, expats in the UAE benefit from much lower tax costs, with almost all (94%) of expats based in the Emirates paying lower tax than in their country of origin, the survey found.

While expats in the UAE earn relatively high salaries (the country ranks 6th on the Wealth Hotspot chart), they are also able to put money aside, with 79% stating that they saved more since becoming an expat compared to the worldwide average of 61%.

However, the survey also revealed that the past year has been difficult economically for expats based in the UAE, with over three quarters (77%) indicating that the economic situation has deteriorated over the past year.

'This has directly impacted a quarter of expats who think there are reduced career opportunities in the UAE, with one in ten of those who thought the economy hadn't improved, actively looking to return home,' the report noted.

However, the survey also points out that most UAE expats remain upbeat, with 81% responding that they have not been directly impacted and are therefore not actively looking to return home.