New Delhi: India is home to the second largest proportion of high-earning expatriates in the world after China and ahead of countries like Switzerland, Russia and Hong Kong, says a HSBC survey.
According to the seventh Expat Explorer survey commissioned by HSBC Expat, 18 percent of expats working in India draw a salary of USD 250,000 or more every year while in China 29 percent expats earn a similar annual salary.
The proportion of expats drawing similar salaries is 17 percent in Switzerland and 16 percent each in Russia and Hong Kong.
"India as a country offers exciting career opportunities for expatriates who have the right skill-set and global experience," HSBC India Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Sanjiv Sud said.
"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," Sud added.
Expats in India also report greater savings on everyday expenses and have substantial disposable income when compared to their home countries, the survey says.
Expats in India spend less on utilities (43%), groceries (42%), clothing (42%), healthcare (41%), housing (40%) and household goods (40%), the survey revealed.
"Expatriates enjoy a better lifestyle in India as the operational and commodity costs are substantially lower compared to the West. This helps them save money for the future and also have substantial disposable income," Sud said.
A sector-wise analysis shows that new-age sectors such as telecommunication, information technology and Internet account for 21 percent of total expats working in India, followed by construction and engineering (19%).
Among all, 23 percent of expats working in India are from United Kingdom, followed by the United States (14%) and Japan and Canada at 7 percent each.
Age profiles of expats working in India is fairly spread with 50 percent of them in the age bracket of 35-54 years and 43 percent in the range of 18-34 years, the survey said.
In the overall list, Switzerland was 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.
Lower living costs and good perks for families make India an increasingly attractive expat destination, the survey said.
Expats ranked India 6th in terms of raising children, ahead of Canada at 8th position and China at 12th. New Zealand topped the chart in this segment.
The Expat Explorer survey, conducted by YouGov covered nearly 9,300 expats from around the world who shared their views on quality of life, financial well-being and ease of raising a family abroad.
