Foreigners prosper in Russia

The highest-paid foreign specialists living abroad are to be found in Russia, according to an HSBC International Bank poll cited by NEWSru.com. One-third of the so-called “expats” in Russia earn $250,000 per year or more, the highest proportion worldwide, NEWSru claims.

According to the bank’s report, 97% of expatriates in Russia have more disposable income than they had in their home countries and 70% of them have household staff. Russia holds first place in the bank’s overall ranking, followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Hong Kong, which ranked first last year, is now in fourth place.

“Wealth is moving East,” the bank summarized in its report, noting that the poorest expats live in Belgium and Australia. North American and Western European countries make up the bottom 11 places among the 26 countries mentioned, with the United States ranked 17^th, three places below Vietnam. Switzerland, the top-rated Western country, is in 12^th place. France is the lowest-ranked.

Of course, there are a variety of issues involved in the calculation of quality of life. Expats in Malaysia, China and India find housing costs very high. Those in Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong are cutting spending due to the financial crisis. Qatar has proven most immune to the crisis. 45% of expats in the United Kingdom and 23% in the US are considering returning home because of changing economic times. That is compared to 15% worldwide, and 17% in Russia.

HSBC based its findings on the responses of 3146 people working in 50 countries. The survey was made in February and April of this year.