Quality healthcare is a top priority for many expats when they set up home abroad, especially if they are retiring and already suffer from medical problems.
The problem is working out which countries provide the best healthcare for the best price.
Now, a new expat survey by HSBC which has asked 10,000 offshore workers and retirees about their lifestyle and experiences offers some help.
The Expat Explorer survey reveals the countries with the most highly rated healthcare – and the top 10 are probably many of the countries many expats would have believed offered the best medical treatment.
The Asia Pacific nation of Taiwan led the table by a significant margin.
Out of the 34 countries ranked, Britain slides in the table at 16, the United Arab Emirates takes 18th place and the United States comes in at 27th.
Other popular expat destination placings are – Canada (12), Australia (14), and New Zealand (21).
Winner by a mile
The bottoms three were Brazil, Egypt and Ireland.
Taiwan ranks significantly higher than any other country in the voting.
The study asked expats for their opinions about the quality and affordability of healthcare.
Around 7 out of 10 expats living in Taiwan commented that private healthcare in Taiwan was much cheaper than in their home country – almost twice the level of expats living in any other country.
Nearly two-thirds claimed the quality of treatment they received in Taiwan was better than that offered in their home nation. The average for this category across the survey was 40%.
Three-quarters of expats in Taiwan also explained that accessing medical care was easy and just involved registering with the medical authorities on arrival in the country.
HSBC pointed out that one of the main reasons why countries with good quality healthcare languished lower down the table than expected was due to the high cost of treatment.
