Singapore has had a few issues to contend with recently, such as an Indonesian tax amnesty and competition from other hubs, but it ranks as the most desirable place in the world to live in for expats, according to a survey.

Singapore is the most desirable jurisdiction overall for expats, just ahead of New Zealand, Canada, the Czech Republic and Switzerland in second, third, fourth and fifth place respectively, a new survey by HSBC shows.

For some expats, higher income levels are a primary factor in making faster progress towards their saving goals. In Switzerland, they earn on average $188,000 a year, in Hong Kong the average salary is $170,000 a year and in Singapore the average salary is $139,000 a year.

More than half of expats in Hong Kong, Switzerland (56 per cent) and Singapore (55 per cent) have been able to build long-term savings and investments more swiftly than the global average of 38 per cent, according to the HSBC Expat Explorer survey.

For some jurisdictions, the data is not so flattering. The UK ranks at a relatively lowly 22^nd spot while the US only comes in 30^th place, according to the survey that examines jurisdictions on a mix of tests, such as for job prospects, salaries, family life, education, amenities and communications. Out of a blend of all such measures, Singapore stands tallest, with a total combined “score” of 0.57.

League tables are created using responses to 27 of the questions asked in the survey and a minimum sample of 100 expat respondents, including at least 30 expat parents, is required for a country to be included in the tables. Each league table scores countries on a scale of zero to one, with the highest score ranking first and the lowest ranking last. Fieldwork for this survey, the ninth in the series, was carried out in April and May last year, HSBC said.

Some 62 per cent of expats living in Singapore say they are earning more and 66 per cent agree that their quality of life is better. Some 71 per cent of expats in London and New York say working there will improve their job prospects when they move home or to another country. Meanwhile, 63 per cent of expats say they feel safer in Toronto.

Ranked purely by economics, Switzerland stands tallest, at a grade of 0.66, ahead of Singapore in second place, at 0.61, Germany, at 0.6, and Norway, at 0.58.

The figures, gathered during a year of geopolitical upheaval and blows to conventional wisdom (Brexit, Trump etc) also suggest that nations such as the UK and US have work to do in becoming more attractive to expats, who, often being relatively affluent, can be significant economic actors and important clients for wealth managers.

Two in five expats (40 per cent) say life abroad has helped them speed up their saving for retirement, compared with 20 per cent who found it slowed their progress towards this goal. A similar proportion (41 per cent) say that expat life has accelerated their progress towards property ownership, compared with 19 per cent who find the reverse.

Countries in the Middle East stand out for the opportunity to save towards retirement: the majority of expats in Saudi Arabia (68 per cent), Qatar (59 per cent), Bahrain (53 per cent), Oman (51 per cent) and the UAE (50 per cent) say living in these countries has accelerated their ability to save for retirement, which compares to two in five expats (40 per cent) globally.

Expats in Qatar (79 per cent), Saudi Arabia (77 per cent), Oman (70 per cent), Bahrain (65 per cent) and the UAE (62 per cent) are able to save more than they could in their home country, compared with 53 per cent globally.