In a recently published ranking of host countries for skilled workers, Germany is in 52nd and thus last place. 12,000 professionals from 192 nations took part in a survey conducted by “InterNations”, the world’s largest association of “expats”. This term is used to describe people who leave their home country to work abroad but do not emigrate. The best performers in this ranking are the so-called oil states of the Middle East, emerging countries in East Asia, as well as Estonia and Canada.
Germany ranks at the bottom in all categories of the survey: Language (49th), digital infrastructure (48th), housing situation (47th), administration (36th). Although more than half of the respondents come to Germany with a good knowledge of German, 46% describe it as difficult to cope with their German skills. As an example, a Romanian woman is quoted as saying, “Germans are prejudiced if you don’t speak German well enough, especially at the offices.” When it comes to digital infrastructure, the main complaints are poor Internet connections and cashless payment options, especially with credit cards. Affordable housing is hard to find, the survey reveals. For example, one participant says, “The housing shortage here is a real problem, as is the constant rise in rents, while salaries are not increasing at the same rate.” The country’s lack of digitalization also bothers expats at government offices. These hardly offer any opportunities to do official business online, he said. 52% of respondents find it difficult to deal with local authorities.
Press releases on the ranking:
2023-03-21_Pressemitteilung_Expat Basics Index_DACH Länder.pdf (in-cdn.net)
Press Releases | InterNations
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Main und Höchhäuser in Frankfurt. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
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