UAE among top 20 countries for expats to live in 2021

With nearly eight million ex-pats choosing to make the UAE its home, it should come as no surprise that the emirates are a pretty population destination for those living and working abroad.

A booming restaurant scene, all-year-round good weather, and lots of family-friendly activities make it an excellent spot to work whether you’ve been here two months or 20 years.

We’ll never stop banging on about how much we love the UAE, and plenty of expats agree with us, as it has just been ranked among the top 20 countries for expats to live in 2021.

According to InterNations’ Expat Insider survey, residents here are happy with the quality of life and the ease of settling in, with the UAE ranking 18th overall in these categories.

A major factor in this is how easy it is to live here without speaking the local language – with the UAE ranking first in this category, with 93 percent of respondents saying they can get by without Arabic language knowledge.

That said, it's always good to know a few words in the local tongue. Click here for the best places to learn Arabic.

Two-thirds of expats feel at home in the local culture, and 69 percent described it as easy to get used to.

Plus, nearly all expats – some 95 percent – feel safe here, with one Kenyan expat saying: “The best part about living in the UAE is that the country is safe for me and my two daughters.”

Coronavirus has hit the world hard, and a quarter of expats say they have felt the impact of the pandemic on their work, versus 15 percent globally.

But most expats (83 percent) are satisfied with the official communication around COVID-19, and the related regulations designed to keep us all safe.

Overall, Taiwan came out on top as the best place for expats to live, followed by Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Portugal.

UAE was the third-best expat country in the GCC, followed by Oman (24th overall), Saudi Arabia (42nd overall) and Kuwait (59th overall).

Bahrain was took top spot for the GCC (12th overall), followed by Qatar (17th overall).