Bahrain: Bahrain continues to be the number one destination for expatriates in the region.
The third annual InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey, which was made up of more than 14,000 respondents, put Bahrain in the top 25 countries.
Within the GCC, Oman was the only other top 25 country, with the UAE at 40 and Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia ending up at the very bottom of the survey.
The study is one of the most extensive studies ever conducted to explore the general living situation of expatriates.
“The results among the various destinations in the Ease of Settling Index vary greatly,” the report stated.
“Oman and Bahrain feature in the global top 15 while Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait rank 61st, 66th, and 67th out of 67, respectively.
“Unsurprisingly, the responses to individual questions cover a wide range of reactions, ranging from a mere 35 per cent of expats saying the locals are friendly in Kuwait, to an overwhelming 87pc positive ratings in Oman.
“Furthermore, 21pc of expats in Oman and Bahrain say that making local friends is very easy, compared to the worldwide average of 12pc.
“However, all the other Gulf states have below-average ratings for this question, and it seems that the language might also be a contributing factor.”
That said, most respondents in Bahrain agree that learning Arabic is not an important factor in settling in.
“Most expats in the region (between 56pc and 74pc) agree that it is not necessary to speak Arabic to get by in everyday life, especially in Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE, where Arabic and English are the main business languages,” it said.
“The only exception to this rule is Saudi Arabia, where only 43pc of the respondents think it’s easy to get by without speaking the language, exactly the same proportion as the global average.”
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