According to a survey by InterNations, Vietnam is the most affordable country in the world for expats, ranking first out of 53 destinations when it comes to personal finance.
InterNations, a global expat community with over 5.3 million members from 420 cities worldwide, has just released its Expat Insider 2024 Ranking.
This ranking surveyed over 12,500 expats working in 53 countries and territories. The ranking criteria revolve around 5 categories: Quality of life, life stability, work, personal finance and essential needs.
Vietnam tops list of most affordable countries in the world for 4th consecutive year
According to the Expat Insider 2024 report, Vietnam is the most affordable country in the world for expats, ranking first out of 53 destinations when it comes to personal finance. This is also the 4th consecutive year that Vietnam has topped this criterion.
In addition to ranking first in personal finance, among the 53 destinations, Vietnam ranked 14th in terms of working conditions for expats (such as career prospects, salary and job security), 29th in terms of essential services for expats such as digital life, housing and language, and 40th in terms of quality of life.
Regarding the personal finance index, InterNations asked survey participants to rate their satisfaction in three areas: general living expenses, satisfaction with their financial situation, and whether their household disposable income is enough to live comfortably.
The results show that the composition of the top 10 countries has not changed much compared to last year, with only one new name appearing, Brazil, in 9th place, replacing Malaysia after the country dropped from 5th in 2023 to 11th in 2024.
After Vietnam’s No. 1 position, the next names in the top 10 countries in descending order are Cambodia, Indonesia, Panama, Philippines, India, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil and China.
Among the group of foreigners living in Vietnam, 86% rated the cost of living here as good, 40% higher than the average of the surveyed countries in the world.
Meanwhile, 65% said they were satisfied with the current financial situation in Vietnam, also higher than the average of 54% in the surveyed countries.
Notably, up to 68% said their disposable income was more than enough to provide a comfortable life, much higher than the average of 41% in the other surveyed countries.
Not only is the cost of living low, foreigners living in Vietnam are also paid higher salaries than the average of foreigners living in other countries. Up to 19% of foreigners living in Vietnam participating in the survey said they received an annual income of 150,000 USD or more, while this rate in other countries is only about 10%.
In addition, the overall job satisfaction of foreigners in Vietnam is also very high.
Of the 53 destinations worldwide, four Asian countries made it into this year’s top 10, with Indonesia in third place and Thailand in sixth, while Vietnam came in eighth, just above the Philippines in ninth.
The report quoted a British expat saying about life in Vietnam: “Life here is not stressful for me, it’s a great change from my previous busy and resource-consuming work life.”
