Cambodia fourth friendliest country for expats
Cambodia is the fourth friendliest country for expats, or rather friendliness of the local population towards foreign residents according to the 2021 report by Expat Insider . Expat Insider are a site that measure various metrics related to expat life across the globe.
Known as the “Land of Smiles” Cambodia has seemingly backed this up with a whopping 96 per cent of those asked rating the levels of intimacy and friendly attitudes as positive. This is in comparison to the global average of a miserly 67 percent.
Who are the top 10 for friendliness of the local population towards foreign residents?
Portugal knocked Taiwan off their perch to take top spot, while Mexico took third spot and surprisingly Bahrain taking fifth.
Amazingly for Cambodia this was the first time they ave featured in the survey since 2017, where they also placed 4th on the list.
The full top ten were as follows;
- Portugal
- Taiwan
- Mexico
- Cambodia
- Bahrain
- Costa Rice
- Oman
- Colombia
- Vietnam
- Canada
And the least friendliest country for expats?
Anything that has a winner obviously has to have a loser and Kuwait have now scooped the wooden spoon for a record 4th year in a row, whether they beat Somalia on the list is unsure.
In second to last place was amusingly Austria, arguably the birthplace of the patron saint of anti-immigration. Switzerland pulled in 3rd to last, again not much of a surprise when you factor in they have literally had referendums about getting rid of foreigners.
So, next time you hear a whinging expat complaining about life in Cambodia politely point out that they should try living in Kuwait!
How did Cambodia rank as the 4th friendliest country for expats?
Whilst there will always be some whining barang that constantly complain about life in the Kingdom (instead of leaving) most local expats acknowledge and appreciate how the friendliness and welcoming nature of Cambodians truly helps make this such a great place to live.
Speaking to Khmer Nights British expat Andie Perry, who has been in the country for nine years stated “I’ve never been to Portugal, or Taiwan, but can’t believe Mexico beat Khmers as being more friendly to expats”.
4th friendliest country for expats and Covid-19
The fact that Cambodia ranked 4th in 2021 is actually not a huge shock when you factor in how the estimated 70,000+ people that ended up stuck in the country have been welcomed and looked after. Not only that, but until the February 20th incident life in the Kingdom had been relatively normal when compared to the rest of the globe. Yes, we reminisce about the good old days.
To read about when Cambodia was normal click here
Many countries simply told foreigners to leave, or put prohibitively high prices on visas as Covid was seen as a “foreign” disease. Cambodia on the other hand gave an amnesty to those stuck on tourist visas, which has resulted in many converting to business visas and now permanently calling the country home.
Friendliness and ease of life
Another factor which makes it a whole happy place is the relative ease of life here particularly when compared to regional neighbors such as China, or Vietnam. Foreigners can easily set up companies, get jobs, open bank accounts and go about their daily lives without the usual red tape that comes with being an outsider in certain other countries.
Getting treated as a person rather than just a “barang” goes a long way, couple that in with the genuine friendly welcoming nature of the Khmer people and Cambodia really isn’t a bad place to lay your hat.
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Author: Reece Ferguson
Reece is a South-East Asia based writer and journalist that originally hails from Northern Ireland. He has previously written for Philippines Lifestyle News, as well as for our previous publication Khmer Nights.
