'India home to 2nd largest proportion of highly paid expats'

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 per cent of expats working in India draw a salary of USD 250,000 or more every year while in China 29 per cent expats earn a similar annual salary.
The proportion of expats drawing similar salaries is 17 per cent in Switzerland and 16 per cent 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 per cent), groceries (42 per cent), clothing (42 per cent), healthcare (41 per cent), housing (40 per cent) and household goods (40 per cent), 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 per cent of total expats working in India, followed by construction and engineering (19 per cent).
Among all, 23 per cent of expats working in India are from United Kingdom, followed by the United States (14 per cent) and Japan and Canada at 7 per cent each.
Age profiles of expats working in India is fairly spread with 50 per cent of them in the age bracket of 35-54 years and 43 per cent 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.