Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 cities worldwide in Expat City Ranking 2022, Friendly atmosphere a highlight

Bangkok-

Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2022, performing best for personal finance and worst for working abroad and quality of life.

– In 2022, Valencia (1st), Dubai, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid, Bangkok, Basel, Melbourne, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore (10th) are the top 10 cities for ex-pats to live in.

– On the other hand, ex-pats consider Johannesburg (50th), Frankfurt, Paris, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Hamburg, Milan, Vancouver, Tokyo, and Rome (41st) the world’s worst cities to live in.

Munich, 29 November 2022 — Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 in the Expat City Ranking 2022 by InterNations, the world’s largest ex-pat community with over 4.5 million members. The city excels when it comes to both Personal Finance and the Ease of Settling In, ranking among the top 5 in both indices. While it gets somewhat mixed results in the Expat Essentials Index (22nd) — ex-pats find it easy to find housing but are unhappy with the digitization and local bureaucracy — Bangkok performs worst for both the Quality of Life and Working Abroad.

The Expat City Ranking is based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. It is one of the most extensive surveys about living and working abroad, with 11,970 respondents in 2022. A total of 50 cities around the globe are featured this year, offering in-depth information about five areas of ex-pat life: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finance, and the new Expat Essentials Index, which covers digital life, admin topics, housing, and language.

Expats Enjoy Life without Monetary Concerns

Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2022 and 2nd worldwide in the Personal Finance Index. Expats are not only happy with the general cost of living (69% vs. 45% globally), but affordability is also a highlight in the Expat Essentials Index (22nd). Housing is both affordable (70% happy vs. 39% globally) and easy to find (85% vs. 54% globally), with Bangkok landing in first place in the Housing Subcategory. On the other hand, ex-pats rank the city 42nd in both the Digital Life and the Admin Topics Subcategories. For example, more than two in five (42%) are unhappy with the availability of government services online (vs. 21% globally). “It is all paperwork, for everything,” shares a Chilean ex-pat. Bangkok comes in 49th for this factor, only ahead of Rome (50th).

A Difficult Working Life but Easy to Settle In

The Working Abroad Index (39th) is another lowlight, where Bangkok lands among the bottom 10 in the Salary & Job Security (41st), Career Prospects (41st), and Work Culture & Satisfaction (46th) Subcategories. Over one in three ex-pats (35%) are unhappy with the local job market (vs. 27% globally), and 46% feel that the local business culture does not promote flat hierarchies or independent work (vs. 28% globally). Luckily, respondents seem to have an easier time in their private life. They describe the local residents as generally friendly (88% vs. 66% globally) and are happy with their social life (73% vs. 56% globally). When asked what he likes most about life in Bangkok, a British ex-pat cites the “Thais’ culture, friendliness, and attitude to living”. It may not be a surprise then that 78% feel at home in Bangkok (vs. 62% globally) and the city ranks 4th in the Ease of Settling In Index.

Safety & Environmental Issues Concern Expats

Lastly, Bangkok comes 39th in the Quality of Life Index, ranking among the worst destinations worldwide for Safety & Security (45th) and Environment & Climate (48th). Expats are unhappy with the air quality (67% vs. 19% globally), as well as the urban environment (38% vs. 17% globally), and 43% agree that the government does not support environmentally friendly policies (vs. 18% globally). Regarding their safety, 36% of ex-pats are unhappy with the political stability (vs. 15% globally), and 43% feel that they cannot openly express themselves and their opinions (vs. 18% globally).

About the Expat City Ranking 2022

The Expat City Ranking is based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. For the survey, InterNations asked 11,970 ex-pats representing 177 nationalities and living in 181 countries or territories to provide information on various aspects of ex-pat life, as well as their gender, age, and nationality. In addition to their satisfaction with life in their host country, respondents were also invited to share their opinions on the city they are currently living in.

Participants were asked to rate up to 56 different aspects of urban life abroad on a scale of one to seven. The rating process emphasized their personal satisfaction with these aspects, considering both emotional topics and more factual aspects with equal weight. The individual factors were then bundled in various combinations for a total of 16 subcategories, and their mean values were used to draw up five topical indices: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finance, and Expat Essentials. These were further averaged — together with the responses to the question “All things considered, how happy are you with your life abroad in general?” — to create the Expat City Ranking. In 2022, the top 10 cities for ex-pats are Valencia (1st), Dubai, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid, Bangkok, Basel, Melbourne, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore (10th).

For a city to be featured in the Expat City Ranking 2022, a sample size of at least 50 survey participants per destination was required. In total, 50 cities met this requirement.

About InterNations

With more than 4.5 million members in 420 cities around the world, InterNations is the largest global community and a source of information for people who live and work abroad. InterNations offers global and local networking and socializing, both online and face-to-face. At around 6,000 events and activities per month, expatriates have the opportunity to meet other global minds. Online services include discussion forums and helpful articles with personal ex-pat experiences, tips, and information about life abroad. Membership is by approval only to ensure we remain a community of trust. InterNations is part of the NEW WORK SE, a group of brands that offer products and services for better working life.

Find more information about InterNations on our press page, in our company blog, or in our magazine. Follow us on for updates and data insights on ex-pat life.