Singapore most liveable for Asian expatriates

The Lion City tops the list of 10 locations around the world according to a report.

Updated annually, ECA International's Location Ratings system helps companies to establish appropriate expatriate allowances to compensate for the level of adjustment required to complete an assignment. It objectively evaluates a host of factors to form an assessment of the overall quality of living in over 400 locations worldwide.

These factors include climate, availability of health services, housing and utilities, isolation, access to a social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, personal safety, political tensions and air quality. The system recognises that where an employee is going from and to can impact the level of adaptation required for some of these factors. The results used here are established on an Asian base.

“When a location has good air quality, excellent infrastructure and healthcare facilities, low crime and health risks - all the attributes Singapore offers – companies are likely to provide just a low allowance or none at all,” explains Lee Quane, Regional Director, ECA International, Asia.

“However, the impact of some of the factors we use in our assessment, such as distance from home and differences in culture, language and climate will vary according to where someone comes from,” adds Quane. “For this reason we take into account the home and destination country when analysing quality of living. So while Singapore ranks at the top for Asians, it ranks 66th for someone coming from Western Europe, for example.”

In the global ranking, Singapore is followed by Sydney and then Brisbane and Adelaide in joint 3rd position. Baghdad and Kabul share the position of least liveable location, followed by Port au Prince.

The Singapore is one of two Asian cities among the top 10 locations. Japanese city Kobe is the next highest ranked Asian city at No. 5. Tokyo and Yokohama, which were among the top 10 last year, have fallen to a joint 17th position globally as a result of scores worsening because of the fallout from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that affected parts of Japan last year.