India’s financial capital Mumbai tops global ranking when it comes to expat salaries, according to the latest HSBC Expat survey.
The expats moving to India’s most populous city reported average annual earnings of $217,165 (Rs 14,049,490), which is more than twice the global average of $99,903 (Rs 64,62,225).
The findings, based on feedback from over 27,500 expats from 159 countries and territories, covered 52 cities across the globe. San Francisco was the second most lucrative city with an average salary of $207,227 (Rs 13,418,984) followed by Zurich with an average earnings of $206,875 (Rs 13,396,190).
4 Asian cities in the top 10 list
The Maximum city also pipped the likes of Shanghai (4), Jakarta (8) and Hong Kong(9), the other three Asian cities which featured alongside US and European cities in top 10 expat salary rankings. In total, 31 cities were home to average earnings of more than $100,000 (Rs 64,76,500).
Switzerland most lucrative country
Switzerland continues to remain lucrative with two cities in the top 5 (Geneva and Zurich), thanks to the high average incomes and the low personal tax rate.
Despite Switzerland’s notorious living costs, the country saw 77% of expats in Zurich report that their disposable income were higher than in their home cities.
San Francisco top destination for expat jobs
Bloomberg
Though cities in Asian countries fared well in average expat compensation, all including Mumbai ranked lower in expat job opportunities than UK and US destinations such as London, San Francisco, New York, or even Birmingham, according to HSBC.
Dublin, a tech hub in Europe, ranked below the global average in expat salaries but was among top five destinations for expat job opportunities.
Economic reforms spur high confidence among expats
The study also found that expats in India report high levels of confidence in the local economy – 71% compared with 53% globally – “against a backdrop of extensive economic reforms”. The number of resident expats who recommend the country for career progression has increased by 12 percentage points since 2016 to almost two-thirds (63%) in 2017.
