Spain 'offers good quality of life'

Expatriates living in France and Spain enjoy a better quality of live there than they did in their home countries, research has found.

According to the latest uSwitch.com Quality of Life Index, expats who have relocated overseas enjoy earlier retirement, longer life expectancy and benefit from more holiday time.

France came out top of the index, closely followed by Spain, because they spend proportionately more on expatriate healthcare than other European countries - 11 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) - and boast plenty of sunshine hours and have good transport links to and from the UK.

When it comes to expat healthcare, the index found the average European country spends nine per cent of its GDP on improving medical services. Poland and the UK were found to spend the lowest amount on health, at 8.2 and 6.2 per cent of GDP respectively.

Life expectancy was also perceived to be a large factor in the quality of life survey, with expatriates in Germany, Holland, Sweden and Italy likely to enjoy a longer life than those living in the UK.

The research follows a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit which found that four out of ten international companies are planning to increase their expatriate staff in the next five years.

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