Vietnam ranks 7th out of 52 destinations because the country offers easy finances but poor governance, according to the Expat Insider 2022 survey.
Today, InterNations publishes its Expat Insider 2022 Survey, one of the world’s most comprehensive surveys on living and working abroad with nearly 12,000 respondents.
In total, the research report analyzes 52 destinations around the world, ranking the best and worst countries for expats and providing in-depth information on expats’ satisfaction with quality of life, ease of settlement, working abroad and personal finances. in their respective country of residence. For the first time, the ranking also includes the new Expat Essentials Index, which covers digital life, administrative topics, housing and language.
Vietnam ranks 7th out of 52 destinations in the Expat Insider 2022 survey. Expats are especially happy with their Personal Finance (1st) and the ease of Settling In (9th). While the country is still in the midfield for Working Abroad (29th), it lands in the bottom 10 of both the Expat Essentials (46th) and Quality of Life (48th) Index. Overall, 84% of expats are happy with their lives in Vietnam, compared to 71% worldwide.
These are the Expat Insider 2022 Survey Reports on Vietnam
Finances are not a problem
Vietnam excels when it comes to Personal Finance and ranks first in this index worldwide. The majority of expats (80%) are satisfied with the general cost of living, compared to only 45% worldwide. “There are affordable prices in almost all areas,” reports a Swiss expat. There is no stress when it comes to their financial situation: about four in five (79%) are satisfied with this factor (vs. 60% worldwide), and 92% say their disposable household income is sufficient or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 72% worldwide). “I live comfortably on my limited income,” says an American-American expat.
A warm welcome
Expats in Vietnam
It is also easy for expats to settle in Vietnam. They rank the country ninth in the Ease of Settling In Index. They greatly enjoy the Local Kindness (6th) they experience. Most expats (84%) describe local residents as generally friendly (versus 66% globally), and 83% find them friendly toward foreign residents in particular (versus 65% globally). “The warmth, honesty and friendliness of the people” is what an American American likes most about living in Vietnam, while a Malaysian expat emphasizes “the people and the friendly culture”. Indeed, the local culture is another area that expats are particularly happy about: 83% feel welcome in Vietnam (versus 66% globally) and 71% feel at home there (versus 62% globally).
Easily create a personal network
Creating a personal network is certainly important for the life of an expat. Expats place Vietnam in the top 10 in the Find Friends subcategory (7th), saying it’s easy to make local friends (54% happy vs 42% globally). More than two in three (69%) are satisfied with their social life, compared to 56% worldwide. In addition, 63% have a personal support network in Vietnam, for example people they can turn to for practical/emotional support (versus 59% worldwide).
Well paid but unsatisfactory work
Expat at work in Vietnam
Expats have mixed opinions about Working Abroad (29th) in Vietnam. On the other hand, 29% of expats believe that moving to Vietnam has not improved their career prospects (versus 18% globally). In addition, 14% of expats see no purpose in their work (vs. 9% worldwide), and 45% believe that the work culture does not promote independent work and/or flat hierarchies (vs. 28% worldwide).
While the country ranks in the bottom 10 for all of these factors, it ranks eighth for any others: More than two in three expats (68%) feel fairly paid for their work based on their industry, qualifications and role (vs 62% worldwide). The most common fields in which expats work in Vietnam are education — including language teaching — (21%), manufacturing and engineering (15%) and advertising, marketing and communication (13%).
Worrying Environmental Issues
The country ranks in the bottom 10 in the Quality of Life Index (48th), and Environment & Climate (49th) raises major concerns for expats in Vietnam. More than half of them (53%) are dissatisfied with the urban environment, more than three times the global average (17%). “The noise pollution is terrible,” reports a French expat. They are also disappointed with the availability of green goods and services (37% dissatisfied vs 17% globally) and are especially dissatisfied with air quality (64% dissatisfied vs 19% globally). “The smog is a huge problem,” notes an expat from Italy. “The air is really toxic.” In addition, more than half of expatriates (51%) believe that the government does not support policies to protect the environment (versus 18% globally), ranking the country 50th for this factor.
The healthcare system is disappointing
In addition, expats in Vietnam are dissatisfied with their Health & Well-Being (40th). About one in five expatriates (19%) say health care is generally unavailable (versus 13% globally), and one in four (25%) report that it is difficult to access all types of health care they have. need (vs. 17% worldwide). When expats have access to health care, they feel it is of poor quality – 23% are dissatisfied with the quality of medical care, compared to 14% worldwide.
Transit and language frustrate expats
The Travel & Transit subcategory (42nd) narrowly escapes the ranking among the lowest 10. Expats describe public transport availability as particularly poor (43% unhappy vs 17% globally). About one in three (32%) are dissatisfied with automotive infrastructure, more than double the global average (13%).
Language (47th) is another problem in Vietnam. Four in five expats (80%) report that learning the local language is difficult, compared to just 38% worldwide. They rate the country last for this factor (52nd). An American-American expat says his “inability to learn the language” is something he struggles most with in Vietnam. In fact, 44% do not speak the local language at all, which is more than four times the proportion of expats who say so about the language of their respective host country (10%).
The administration is among the worst in the world
Language is not the only hurdle in the Expat Essentials Index (46th). In the Admin Topics subcategory, Vietnam ranks 51st overall, only Malta (52nd) does worse. Expats find it difficult to deal with local bureaucracy (66% vs 39% worldwide), open a local bank account (41% vs 21% worldwide) and get a visa to move there (48% vs 24% worldwide) .
Digital Life (49th) doesn’t perform much better. Expats vote the country last (52nd) for the availability of administrative/government services online – 44% of expatriates are dissatisfied with this factor, compared to just 21% globally. Nearly one in four expats (23%) also generally find it difficult to pay without cash (vs. 8% worldwide).
