It was in 2016 at Geneva airport, shortly after the terrorist attacks in Brussels. Nahed Zeid, working at the World Health Organization since 2015, still remembers it. An obviously drunk man shouted at this Egyptian, seeing her veil, that she was a terrorist. “There have been other incidents in recent years, including insults on the bus. These are rare cases, but I have friends from China or South America living in Geneva who often say they feel that they are not perceived as Europeans, ”she tells us.
This type of act could well have contributed to the fall of Switzerland in recent years in the “Expat Insider Survey” study, carried out by the German company InterNations, a network for expatriates present throughout the world. In all, 12,420 people of 174 nationalities responded to the survey in January 2021. And this year – obviously special because of the coronavirus – Switzerland ranks 30th out of 59 countries while it was 4th out of 61 in 2014. The categories assessed are quality of life, work opportunities, costs of living, income assessed against costs and ease of settling.
The impact of incidents and political initiatives
In this last category, the Swiss results are poor. The Confederation ranks 52nd out of 59 and, looking at the details, we note for expatriates a difficulty in feeling at home (51st) and a lack of conviviality (54th). “Certain recent incidents or political initiatives have an impact on the perceptions that foreigners have of Switzerland, they have felt less welcome in recent years,” explains Malte Zeeck, founder and co-director of InterNations. But it’s not just Switzerland, we can also see this type of phenomenon in Austria and Germany, for example. ”
However, other criteria explain the fall of Switzerland in the ranking. Starting with the strong growth in other countries, including Portugal and Malaysia.
It also seems that career opportunities have deteriorated over the years for expatriates. Likewise, without this being a novelty, Switzerland remains penultimate in terms of the cost of living, just ahead of Hong Kong. But what is changing is that the income assessed in relation to costs has deteriorated (from 8 out of 61 countries in 2014 to 20 out of 59 in 2021). “Many employers have lowered the allowances granted to expatriates in recent years,” notes Sjoerd Broers, director of Auris Relocation Switzerland, a relocation agency present across the country.
Read also: Switzerland becomes too expensive for expats
The director nevertheless moderates the results of the study. “In terms of quality of life, Switzerland is still among the best countries [9e selon ce critère en 2021, ndlr], which makes it a destination often well positioned in other rankings. And when we assist expatriates who are transferred elsewhere, we find that they very often want to stay. ”
Good points during the coronavirus
The coronavirus paradoxically allowed Switzerland to score a few points compared to other countries. This is what the InterNations study shows: the pandemic has altered the plans of 37% of those polled globally, but 20% of those polled in Switzerland alone. And few of them noticed an impact on their general health (2%), their personal finances (4%) or their mental health (6%). “The expatriates who were already there were more comfortable than in other neighboring countries in particular, with all the same the freedom to move”, reacts Sjoerd Broers. But these unusual statistics were not taken into account as criteria and therefore did not influence Switzerland’s position in the ranking.
Despite these weaknesses, expatriates are unlikely to turn away from Switzerland. “Everything will depend on how the Swiss economy comes out of the crisis, but if it remains as strong, it should continue to be attractive,” said Malte Zeeck, calling, however, to be mindful of lowering more “human criteria”. ”, Such as conviviality and the difficulty of feeling at home.
Also read: Expats in Switzerland are the best paid in the world
“Switzerland remains one of the best countries in the world,” says Nahed Zeid, mentioning in particular its beauty and stability. I was offered to go to Denmark, but I preferred to stay here, I especially love Geneva and its cultural diversity. ”
Switzerland “best country in the world”, it is not Roger Federer who will say the opposite, if we are to believe his promotional clip for Switzerland Tourism.
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