Foreign legion: Just 3pc of men who move abroad are doing it to follow their partner's career path

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Ellie Donnelly Twitter Email

November 09 2018 02:30 AM

A quarter of women who move abroad to live do so because their partner accepted a job overseas - but the same is true for only 3pc of men.

This is according to the 2018 HSBC 'Expat Explorer' report.

With males accounting for six in every 10 expatriate workers, they make up the majority in almost all 31 countries examined in the report.

Only Ireland and Turkey host more female expats than male, and that was by just one or two percentage points.

Just 27pc of women moved to progress their own career, compared with almost half of men, and only half of female expats are working full-time.

In contrast three-quarters of their male counterparts are in full-time employment. "This year we have uncovered some unexpected trends in expat living, including what it means for women, the importance of a social life, how expats define themselves, and even the long-term psychological impact of living overseas," said head of HSBC Expat John Goddard.

On a country-by-country basis Ireland jumped 10 places for expat living. The country now ranks 18th overall.

The annual report from the bank takes into account a number of factors when producing its rankings, including disposable income, economic confidence, quality of life and career progression.

It also looks at domestic factors such as healthcare and quality of childcare.

Seven years ago then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny promised to make Ireland the best small country in the world in which to do business by 2016.

However it is another small country that is leading the way for expats, with Singapore topping the ranking for the second year running.

Singapore outperformed Ireland in most areas.

There were some places where Ireland performed better than the Asian economic giant, including in the area of work-life balance, culture, quality of life, and ability of expats to make friends.

Factors behind Singapore's strong showing included the fact that almost half of all expats in Singapore moved to progress their careers.

And though more than a quarter simply wanted a challenge, many more (38pc) wanted to improve their earnings.

This can be achieved there, with earnings an average of $162,000, (€141,800). Expats in Singapore can expect to bring in $56,000 (€49,000) more than the global average.

While just over one in four of the expats in Singapore have originally been sent by their employer, almost half (47pc) have stayed in the city for the quality of life on offer for them and their family.

Overall Ireland performed better than the UK - which ranked 22nd, and the US, which ranked 23rd.

More than 22,000 expats were interviewed as part of the report.