...the friendliest countries

Phl ranked 8th friendliest country - expat survey By Artemio Dumlao (The Philippine Star)  January 14, 2012

BAGUIO CITY ,Philippines  – The Philippines ranked 8th in the list of the “World’s Friendliest Countries” in the “Expat Explorer Survey 2011” conducted by banking giant HSBC, it was reported on the website of Forbes magazine.

The survey showed that hospitality is the greatest asset of the Philippines in the tourism industry.

The survey conducted in 100 countries worldwide between May and July 2011 rates countries based on the preference of expatriates to make them “their second home.”

The 15 friendliest countries in the world, starting from the highest rated, are New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, Canada, United States, Turkey, United Kingdom, Philippines, Spain, Malaysia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Singapore, and France.

Expatriates perceive the Philippines as a country that “is friendly on wallets,” with 47 percent of the respondents reporting “an increase in access to luxuries” such as domestic staff, swimming pools, and owning properties. 

In the survey, the Philippines trails behind United Kingdom where expatriates find integration into the community to be relatively easy, though expressing concerns on the high cost of living.

The Philippines ranks ahead of Spain where expatriates “fit in well,” many of them reporting to have integrated well into their community, enjoyed the local culture, made friends, learned and used the language, and have experienced a better work-life balance than in their home countries (which included the UK, US, France, and the Netherlands.)

HSBC surveyed 3,385 expatriates in 100 countries but only 31 were ranked for the survey. This is because countries with fewer than 30 respondents were deemed statistically insignificant.