India is home to the second largest proportion of high-earning expatriates in the world after China and ahead of countries such as Switzerland, Russia and Hong Kong - according to the seventh Expat Explorer survey by HSBC Expat.
The Expat Explorer survey, conducted by YouGov, shared views of nearly 9,300 expats from around the world on the quality of life, financial well being and the ease of raising a family abroad.
In all, 18% of expats working in India draw a salary of $250,000 or more every year while 29% expats in China earn similar annual salary, according to the survey. The proportion of expats drawing similar salaries is 17% in Switzerland and 16% each in Russia and Hong Kong, the survey report said.
The survey also revealed that expats in India also report greater savings on everyday expenses and have substantial disposable income when compared to their home countries. Expats in India spend less on utilities (43%), groceries (42%), clothing (42%), healthcare (41%), housing (40%) and household goods (40%).
Sanjiv Sud, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, HSBC India, said: “India as a country offers exciting career opportunities for expatriates who have the right skill-set and global experience. With robust GDP growth projections, multinationals setting up shops here and Indian corporates hiring overseas talent to lead their businesses, the country will continue to offer lucrative career prospects to expatriates.”
Sectors in the limelight
New-age sectors such as telecommunication, information technology and internet account for 21% of total expats working in India followed by construction and engineering (19%), the survey showed. In all, 23% of expats working in India are from United Kingdom followed by the United States (14%) and Japan and Canada at 7% each.
The age profile of expats working in India is fairly spread with 50% of them in the age bracket of 35-54 years and 43% in the range of 18-34 years, the survey revealed.
Destination Switzerland
Switzerland is ranked as the number one country by expats looking for a well-balanced, high quality lifestyle - followed by Singapore, China, Germany and Bahrain while India stood 9th in the list.
Many expats in Switzerland comment on the country’s high quality of air and pleasant surroundings, with three quarters (75%) agreeing that this is an improvement on their home country. Expat parents report that Switzerland offers benefits for families too, believing their offspring are now safer (81%), enjoy a better quality of life (77%) and receive a better education (65%), the survey showed.