Germany is a preferred country for professional expats

Think twice before moving abroad from Germany – it seems to be a popular expatriate destination: According to the data of 2.1 million members of InterNations from May 2016, the USA was the most popular country of residence for people living and working abroad. The country hosts 8% of the expat population. It is followed by Germany (7% of the global expats population) the UK (6%), and the UAE (6%). Most expats in the USA are on assignment by their employer, according to the InterNations Expat Insider 2015 survey, while an above average number of expats in Germany, UK and the UAE found a job on their own. Another interesting finding was that 80% of the people living in one of these top 4 countries consider themselves generally satisfied with their expat life.

Further findings about expats job satisfaction revealed that on average 64% of the global expat population are satisfied with their work abroad. Expatriates in the USA (68%) and in Germany (69%) show a higher satisfaction rate regarding their job abroad. On the other hand the UK (63%) and the UAE (60%), have a below average satisfaction rate when it comes to their career abroad. These variations could be related to different industries (e.g. construction sector in the UAE).

In addition, the members data revealed the most popular expat nationalities, meaning those countries that send the most expats. These figures are divided up by many nations: USA, UK, India, France and Germany seem to have the highest population of expatriates. Americans are leading these statistics with about 149,000 persons or 10% of all expats on InterNations, Americans make up the largest share of those who leave their home country. The US are followed by expats from the UK and from with 8%t and 6% respectively. German and French expats are contributing each with 5% to the global expat community living and working abroad.