There are 195 countries in the world. For the working millennial (people between the ages of 22-37) searching for career opportunities abroad, that’s a large list to have to filter through.
But with the right indicators, that task may not be so monumental. Like any working professional, there are several go-to factors to consider before buying the next ticket out of town. Top of the list would be how easy it is to get a job and how well these jobs pay. Living factors matter too, including things like rent costs and entertainment.
Then there are some generation-specific factors that have to be thrown into the mix. Young people today grew up with the Internet and their idols are no longer just celebrities, but entrepreneurs who made it big from nothing. Proximity to start-ups would count, as would the opinions of other millennials.
The people at Silver Swan Recruitment scored each country based on these indicators and totted them up for its Working Millennial Index. Each country is scored out of five across these indicators: Unemployment Rates, Average Salary, Start-up Successes, Rent Costs, Entertainment, Millennials’ Pick.
The results suggest that Germany is the best country in the world for the working millennial.
“Germany soared to the top spot with an impressive average salary of £2014.26 and an average rent cost of just £643.66 – leaving young people with approximately £1,370 a month, before tax. On top of this, entertainment costs are low, as are unemployment rates with just 3.4 percent of the population without a job,” the company wrote. (£1=US$1.22 at the time of writing).
Here are the countries that made the Top 10:
No. | Countries | Unemployment Rates | Average Salary | Start-up Successes | Rent Costs | Entertainment | Millennials Pick | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Germany | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 27 |
2 | New Zealand | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
3 | Australia | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
4 | Canada | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
5 | Sweden | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
6 | Thailand | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 25 |
7 | Hungary | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 25 |
8 | Netherlands | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
9 | United States of America | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
10 | United Kingdom | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
Two countries in Oceania – New Zealand and Australia – are in the top five, scoring full marks for employment-related indicators. In terms of the most desirable country for millennials to live, Australia was ranked 1st.
Thailand was the only Asian country to make the top 10, landing 6th place thanks to its low unemployment rates (only 1.2 percent). But it’s worth noting that rent here can be fairly high. “The average salary in Thailand was just £526.77 while rent prices were £368.15,” according to Silver Swan.
Canada and Chile are the best countries for young workers in North America and South America respectively. In Africa, Morocco takes the crown.
The countries in the bottom five spots are Iceland, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iran and Algeria.