South Africa rates tops among expats – survey

South Africa is the sixth-best country to live in, outranking Thailand and Canada, a global survey Expat Experience revealed.

Expatriates, people from other nationalities who moved here, rated South Africa as the best country in which to settle down, the best for hobbyists to pursue their passions, and one of the best to live in.

Overall, South Africa did better than the US, UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Belgium.

The survey, commissioned by HSBC Bank International, researched perspectives and experiences of 3 100 expats living in 50 countries.

South Africa was rated second in the category of making local friends and third in organising schools, social life, quality of life and ease of finding somewhere to live. The country comes in at fourth for accommodation.

Paul Banister, acting chief of the International Marketing Council of South Africa, said the nation's natural warm welcome and friendliness contributed to the ease with which expats integrated into communities.

An earlier Cost of Living survey by Mercer found that Johannesburg was one of the most cost-effective cities for a foreigner to live in.

Banister said that the country's global competitiveness was considered to be the "vital measure of success" for the national brand. South Africa is currently ranked 35th in the global reputation and competitiveness index. Banister said they aimed to be in the top 20 by 2020.

He attributed the improvement from the earlier rank of 37th to the creation of an environment conducive to job creation, sustainable GDP growth, and social cohesion.

This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on December 23, 2009