India has been ranked as the fifth most dangerous country in the world for expats. In a survey — Expat Insider 2019 — that covered and interviewed people who live and work abroad, India has been placed at 60 of 64 countries on safety and security. According to the survey which was conducted by InterNations, over four men in ten respondents reported negative feelings about the peacefulness in the country and 27% were displeased with their personal safety — three times the global average of 9%.
“A US American expat, for example, does not like “always having to keep my guard up — as a female, I don’t feel safe. As a resident, I often feel taken advantage of at work and outside work,” the survey said.
The expats also rated negatively to the question of political stability in India. “Almost double the global average (32% vs 17% worldwide) rate the political stability of the country negatively. An Australian expat shares that ‘politics has become hardline, and there are social tensions’,” the survey found.
Apart from politics and security, pollution and lack of leisure options are other parameters where the country has been rated poorly. India has been placed at 63 out of 64 for leisure options and 60 out of 64 for health and well-being. The poor ratings for health can mainly be attributed to the quality of the environment, which is rated negatively by more than eight in ten expats (83% vs only 20% globally).
The survey quotes a US citizen who was worried about the long-term health effects of pollution in India. It states that an Australian expat was dissatisfied with the pollution and lack of cleanliness in general.
Among the top findings of the survey are that India comes in the top 10 countries for personal finance, expats with full-time jobs in India work 3.8 hours per week more than the global average, 83% of respondents rate the quality of the environmentally negatively and almost half the expats struggle with getting used to the Indian culture.
Methodology
The Expat Insider 2019 Survey was conducted by InterNations and ran from March 7-28. A total of 20,259 expatriates took part, representing 182 nationalities and living in 187 countries or territories. Information was taken on five topical indices: quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, family life and personal finance. The five indices and responses to the question – How satisfied are you with life abroad in general? — were then averaged to arrive at the overall country ranking.