It is no secrets that many countries in the Middle East have been a home for many overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). According to the recent report of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), five countries in the Middle East are included in the Top 10 Destination of OFWs. Saudi Arabia remains a top destination of OFWs followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in second place; Qatar in fifth; Kuwait in sixth and Bahrain in ninth place.
But many of you may ask, what is the best place to live and work in the Middle East? We all know that working abroad is not easy and expatriate are also struggling with poor job satisfaction and high cost of living.
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Quality of Life
According to the report of Expat Insider 2018 that surveyed 68 countries, Bahrain and the UAE offer an above-average quality of life for expats as they ranked 20th and 25th respectively. Saudi Arabia as a top destination of OFWs ranked 67th and Kuwait in 68th as countries that provide the worst quality of life for foreign workers.
Health and Well-Being
In spite of the fact that Gulf countries struggle to perform well in Health and Well-Being, the best-performing country in the Middle East in this category is Bahrain ranking 25th overall while Kuwait comes second to the last.
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The best and most affordable healthcare in the region can be found in Qatar, where 64% of expats say that healthcare is affordable but in terms of the quality of the environment or well being, Qatar ranks falls at 50th. Oman, on the other hand, is the top performer for quality of the environment with more than eight in 10 or 81 percent rating the environment quality well.Safety & Security
In terms of safety and security, UAE ranked number 9 while Oman follows at number 10. There are 60% of expats in Oman that believes safety and security come from the political stability of the country while 94% of the respondents attest to the peacefulness of the country.
On the other hand, expats in UAE gives a high rating in terms of political stability, but UAE stands out particularly for personal safety with 97 percent of expats feeling safe. Both Bahrain and Qatar also rank comparatively well in the same subcategory, placing 23rd and 21st, respectively.
Best Family Life
In the Family Life Index, Bahrain is the only Gulf country that makes it to the Top 10 out of 50 ranked countries. It is followed by Qatar at 27th; UAE in 31st; Oman in 42nd while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait fall in 49th and 48th respectively.
Quality of Education
Bahrain leads the way in the Quality of Education subcategory at ranked no. 3. It is followed by Qatar in 14th place. On the contrary, the quality of education in Saudi Arabia is considered worst among parents as it pegged in ranked 48th.
Household Income Enough to Cover Costs
In all six Gulf States, finances were among the three most important reasons for expats to move there. However, only four out of the six perform moderately well in the Personal Finance Index.
Bahrain still on top at ranked 22 followed by Oman at 24th place out of 68 countries. Considered to be on average are Qatar and Saudi Arabia in ranked 30th and 31st respectively. Worst is Kuwait in ranked 50th while UAE falls in the bottom 10 at rank 59th — which means, salary is not really enough to sustain daily living in the UAE.
Settling Down!
Bahrain is the perfect fit for expats as it ranked 1st while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are considered to be a worst-performing country under 'Feeling at Home' category with ranks at 67th and 68th in Ease of Settling Index. Qatar also performs poorly in 41st position while Oman is in rank 16 and UAE in 26th place. More than eight out of 10 expats find it easy to settle down in Bahrain.
Job Satisfaction
In terms of job satisfaction among expat workers, Bahrain places first in the Working Abroad Index but there is clear dissatisfaction among expat in the Middle East regarding their working life.
Under this category, Qatar ranks 35th followed by Oman in 39th and UAE in 46th — all perform below average. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are once more back in the worst place as they ranked 64th and 66th place, respectively.
Overall job satisfaction in the Gulf region is low however it said that overall job security is even worse: Bahrain remains the only haven of job stability in the region, with seven in ten expats saying that they feel secure in their job compared to 59% worldwide. All five remaining Gulf States rank in the bottom of the list.
This article is filed under Filipino workers, hiring Filipino workers, jobs abroad, Middle East, expatriate workers and Saudi Arabia.
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