The Expat Explorer Survey 2009 from HSBC is out. Its scope is quite limited – 2,000 participant only, spread across many different countries -but its conclusions ring true to a degree.
The report shows that the US, Thailand and South Africa are the expat locations which suffered most from the crisis so far. To the point that almost half of the expats surveyed in the US are considering returning home. Financially, Asia remains very attractive, with around 25% of expatriates earning more than 200K USD per year.
Overall, and despite the economic crisis, expats are wealthier and save more than in their home country. They also are more sophisticated investors – not a surprise – with 46% investing in shares, 53% doing so in property, while 42% using managed funds.
All in all, a good read, and an interesting lifeline on the expat situation worldwide. I just have a nagging impression that it does not represent the different type of expatriates out there. Seeing the results, I guess most expatriates interviewed were of the Executive type, who are posted internationally by their MNC. By experience, expatriation is very diverse and more and more expats* are not in this situation.
* To me, an expat is a person who is voluntarily absent from home or country