A new survey found that foreigners in China were mixed about living in the mainland during the Covid-19 pandemic, reporting a lower quality of life but more satisfaction with career opportunities and the state of the economy.
InterNationssaid in its annual report released on Tuesday that Taiwan was deemed the best destination for people living abroad out of 59 places, ahead of mainland China at 22nd and Hong Kong towards the bottom of the list at 46th.
Rankings were based on a survey of 12,240 people representing 174 different nationalities.
Mainland China landed in the bottom three for the digital life index, and 46 per cent of respondents were unhappy with air quality – more than double the global average in the survey.
But the bright spot was that foreigners in mainland China said they had a satisfying working life, with 87 per cent happy with the state of the local economy and 68 per cent satisfied with their job security. China’s was the only major economy to expand last year despite the pandemic, with its annual growth reaching 2.3 per cent.
Foreigners living in Hong Kong rated the city’s cost of living as the worst of the 59 destinations, with 78 per cent expressing dissatisfaction with rising costs. Hong Kong has consistently been found to be one of the world’s most expensive cities, particularly because of its exceptionally high housing costs, even as rents have fallen slightly during the pandemic and ongoing political uncertainties.
