Cities in Africa
12. Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi ranks 12th out of 57 in the Expat City Ranking 2021, placing the highest out of the African cities included in the report. It does especially well in the Getting Settled Index (4th): nearly four in five expats in Nairobi (78%) describe the local residents as generally friendly (vs. 69% globally), and 62% find it easy to make new friends (vs. 48% globally). “The people are welcoming and friendly,” says an Indian expat, adding that he greatly enjoys his “good social life”. Expats in Nairobi agree: 74% are happy with their social life, 17 percentage points more than the global average (57%).
Nairobi also lands among the global top 10 in the Finance & Housing Index (6th): 82% of expats have no trouble finding housing, compared to 60% globally. Additionally, close to half the respondents (49%) find housing affordable (vs. 42% globally). And while nearly one in five expats globally (19%) are dissatisfied with their financial situation, this is only the case for 9% of expats in Nairobi. Interestingly, 42% still rate the local cost of living negatively (vs. 34% globally), ranking the city 23rd in the Local Cost of Living Index.
However, Nairobi ends up in the bottom 10 in the Quality of Urban Living Index (50th). The availability (48th) and quality of medical care (50th) are particular lowlights. In addition, 55% are unhappy with the public transportation system (vs. 20% globally). A Dutch expat even says that the “poor maintenance of local roads” is one of the things he dislikes most about life in Nairobi. Nairobi’s performance in the Urban Work Life Index (34th) is an interesting mix: the city ranks 49th worldwide for the state of the local economy (30% unhappy vs. 19% globally) but 9th for overall job satisfaction (73% happy vs. 68% globally).
41. Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town ranks 41st out of 57 in the Expat City Ranking 2021. The city performs particularly poorly in the Urban Work Life Index (54th): expats are unhappy with their job security (38% vs. 20% globally) and the state of the local economy (53% vs. 19% globally). A German expat highlights the “local economic problems”, while a Namibian respondent mentions the “high unemployment rate”.
Cape Town also lands in the bottom 10 of the Quality of Urban Living Index (51st) — with especially low results in the Safety & Politics Subcategory (56th), where only Johannesburg (57th) performs worse. In fact, 42% of expats in Cape Town are dissatisfied with the political stability (vs. 16% globally), and 43% worry about their personal safety (vs. 8% globally). While the public transportation system is another lowlight (52% negative ratings vs. 20% globally), 93% enjoy the climate and weather (vs. 66% globally). Cape Town even places 3rd in the Leisure & Climate Subcategory: 81% are satisfied with the local leisure options (vs. 72% globally). A British expat notes that there is a “great outdoor lifestyle due to the good weather”.
Maybe the leisure options help expats socialize: they find it easy to make new friends (53% vs. 48% globally) and feel at home in Cape Town (72% vs. 65% globally). This leads to a good ranking in the Getting Settled Index (15th). Cape Town also performs well in the Local Cost of Living (18th) and the Finance & Housing (13th) Indices. The latter is mainly due to the housing situation: expats say housing is easy to find (78% vs. 60% globally), but just 40% find it affordable, slightly less than the global average (42%). In fact, 29% say that their disposable household income is not enough to cover all expenses (vs. 23% globally).
52. Cairo, Egypt
Cairo ranks 52nd out of 57 in the Expat City Ranking 2021. It ends up in the bottom 10 of the overall ranking, as well as in two indices. In the Quality of Urban Living Index (56th), expats rank Transportation (52nd) and Health & Environment (57th) especially poorly. In fact, 67% of expats in Cairo are not satisfied with the urban environment, compared to 16% globally. An Afghan expat says that the “poor air quality and lack of green spaces” are what he dislikes most about life in Cairo. Additionally, nearly one in three (32%) rate the quality of medical care negatively (vs. 14% globally).
In the Urban Work Life Index (53rd), Cairo does not fare much better, coming 52nd in the Job Security Subcategory and 53rd in the Job & Career Subcategory. Expats are unhappy with their job in general (22% vs. 16% globally) and the local career opportunities (42% vs. 33% globally).
On the upside, the city performs much better in the Getting Settled Index (26th): nearly three in five expats (57%) say finding friends in Cairo is easy (vs. 48% globally), and 70% describe the local residents as generally friendly (vs. 69% globally). More than two in five (41%) even think that they could not be any friendlier, compared to 28% globally. Ranking the city 19th in the Finance & Housing Index, expats say that housing in Cairo is both easy to find (67% vs. 60% globally) and to afford (52% vs. 42% globally). The city even ranks 10th worldwide for the latter but receives its best results in the Local Cost of Living Index (7th): 63% of expats rate this factor positively (vs. 48% globally). “I like how cheap it is to live here,” says a Burundian expat. “It is an advantage for someone who is looking to settle in Egypt.”
55. Johannesburg, South Africa
Johannesburg (55th out of 57) is one of the worst cities for expats worldwide, according to the Expat City Ranking 2021. Overall, it ranks 14 places below Cape Town, even coming last in the Quality of Urban Living Index (57th) and two out of its four subcategories: Transportation (57th) and Safety & Politics (57th). Around two-thirds each are unsatisfied with the public transportation system (63% vs. 20% globally) and worry about their personal safety (68% vs. 8% globally). An Irish expat feels that he must “always be on guard due to security issues”. Moreover, Johannesburg ranks 52nd in the Health & Environment Subcategory: 32% are unhappy with the urban environment (vs. 16% globally), and expats consider healthcare to be neither available (20% vs. 11% globally) nor affordable (40% vs. 21% globally).
The city also ends up in the bottom 10 of the Urban Work Life Index (52nd): 41% are dissatisfied with the local career opportunities (vs. 33% globally). A Kenyan expat shares: “The amount of time it took to find a job has been stressful, overwhelming, and frightening.” Expats also rate the job security (29% vs. 20% globally) and state of the local economy (48% vs. 19% globally) negatively.
Johannesburg performs a lot better in the Getting Settled (29th) and the Finance & Housing (24th) Indices. However, the latter has some very mixed results, with the city ranking 56th in the Finance Subcategory and 10th in the Housing Subcategory. Over half the expats in Johannesburg (52%) find housing affordable (vs. 42% globally), while 70% say it is easy to find (vs. 60% globally). But 28% are unhappy with their financial situation (vs. 19% globally), and 42% say that their disposable household income is not enough to cover all expenses (vs. 23% globally).
