India home to 25 pc of wealthiest expats: Survey

Asian countries are home to some of the wealthiest expatriates in the world and about 25 per cent of the highest paid foreign assignees' prefer to live in India, a report has said.

According to the 2009 Expat Explorer Survey by HSBC Bank International, the highest paid expats in the world prefer living in Asia, while their lowest paid counterparts go for Australia and Western Europe.

The highest proportion of expats, earning more than $250,000, are in Hong Kong (27 per cent), Japan (26 per cent) and India (25 per cent) compared with a global average of 16 per cent.

Further, about 30 per cent of high-salaried expats live in Russia and 25 per cent in Switzerland, it added.

The survey revealed that Asian countries were among the cheapest for accommodation, with expats in India, Malaysia and China finding accommodation much cheaper than they did living in their countries of origin.

About 43 per cent of the expats surveyed find accommodation cheaper in India and allocating much less of their income towards accommodation, compared with expats globally, it said.

The report said that the lowest-paid expats live in Australia and Belgium, with the majority (63 per cent and 61 per cent versus 35 per cent overall) of expats earning under $100,000.

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