Africa Offers New Dawn for Expat Pay

According to a new study, Africa represents an exciting new opportunity for expats, with expat salaries here among the highest in the world.

The new Expat Insider study, published recently by expat information site InterNations, paints a startling picture of expat life in Africa, far removed from the clichés that many people hold dear about the continent.

Whilst many African countries are still painfully poor, the rapidly growing economies being experienced by much of Africa is beckoning in a new dawn for hard working expats. Since the boom seen in the Middle East over the oil industry, and more recently in Asia, it now seems that Africa might represent the most exciting opportunities for expat workers.

According to the study, Nigeria stands head and shoulders above other expat destinations in terms of salary, having a larger proportion of expats earning over $250,000 than anywhere else in the world. So while a few countries may pay more to some senior-level roles, in Nigeria workers stand the very best odds of landing an impressive expat package.

There are a number of reasons cited for these generous packages. First of all, Nigeria is a rapidly growing economy. In the past it has suffered from so-called “brain drain” as talented locals left the country in favour of greater opportunities elsewhere. Now Africa’s largest economy is growing so quickly that they are struggling to recruit the sort of experienced talent needed to capitalize on all the opportunities which abound here.

In light of this “supply and demand” issue, expats are being offered ever more to move to Africa and take up duties in Nigeria.

In addition to the rapidly growing economy and all the opportunities this is creating, experts also talk of “risk money”. Whether true or not, many expats would rather avoid developing nations. The typically higher crime rates and lower quality public services can make them far less appealing to expats used to a higher quality of life.

In response to this, expat employers are now willing to pay a premium to attract the right individuals to Nigeria, confident that with the right global talent force they will be able to capitalize on all the opportunities available.

However it’s not just Nigeria where expats can expect an impressive salary package. Following closely behind, expats moving to oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan are almost as likely to be offered such a package.

That said, Nigeria isn’t the only country in Africa to offer impressive expat salaries. Egypt also finds itself in the top ten countries for expat salaries last year, further underlining the fact that Africa represents a new dawn for expats.

Expat workers looking for new opportunities and rapidly-growing economies could do a lot worse than to turn their attention away from “classic” expat destinations like the Middle East and instead to consider Africa as a viable option to further their career – and their finances.