Canada tops new 'best for expats' study

Canada is assessed as the most desirable destination for expatriates in the latest 'World's Best Countries Index'.

David Sapsted

26 October 2021

The index, a global survey conducted by CEOWORLD magazine and the Global Business Policy Institute, looks at 31 key statistical categories across 150 nations, ranging from culture to trade, quality of life to tax burdens.In determining the most advantageous countries for expats, the study looked at factors such as personal happiness, health and wellbeing, safety, digital life, quality of the environment, ease of settling in, personal finance and career prospects.In this year's rankings, the UAE and Taiwan follow top-placed Canada. This compares with a top three of Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand in the latest HSBC 'Expat Explorer', which is based more on personal experiences than statistical analysis.According to the new study, 71% of expats are individual workers, with international students comprising 8%, retirees 4% and corporate transferees 3%.The study estimated that the international student category would see the most rapid percentage increase between 2021-2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.8%."Individual expatriates are predicted to have the second-strongest growth rate at 4.1%, followed by retired expats (3.2%) and corporate transferees (3.1%)," said CEOWORLD.In all, the study estimated there are about 56.8 million expatriates currently living all over the world. Over the past five years, there has been a compound annual growth rate of 4.7%.In other sections in the index, the United States was rated as the world’s most entrepreneurial country, followed by Germany and the UK.The US was also ranked the most startup-friendly nation, followed by the UK and Canada."The United States secured its top spot for a number of reasons, its research and development capacity key among them. America’s strengths include a very high rate of startups, robust angel and venture funding," said the report.But when it came to the most forward-thinking country in the world, the UK came out top in the index, which ranks countries "that are quick in anticipating change and implementing it at the ground level".Japan and Germany were placed second and third in this category, followed by Singapore, South Korea, the US and Australia.Top 25 best countries for expats, according to CEOWORLD: