Based on purely economic considerations, the mainland outranks Hong Kong, Singapore and Germany, a survey by banking giant HSBC indicates. Surprisingly, China's pollution does not bother one respondent in two. Still, the former British colony is better in terms of childcare, healthcare, entertainment and work culture.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Mainland China is the best place in the world for expats, outranking Hong Kong and Singapore, this according to a survey by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

The study shows that the mainland rose on purely economic conditions from seventh spot in the bank's survey last year to first in this year's overall ranking. By contrast, the former British crown colony fell from fourth to 10th place overall.  Singapore, which topped last year's ranking, came third overall after the mainland and Germany.

The survey of about 7,000 expats in 37 countries showed that Asia has increased its appeal, offering higher average salaries than anywhere else. Expats in Asia made US$ 74,000 on average last year, compared to ,000 elsewhere.

Seven in ten expats moved to the mainland because of better job opportunities, whereas only four in ten immigrated to Hong Kong for the same reason.

The mainland ranked second after Brazil in terms of ease of integration, with Hong Kong ranked only 28^th globally. However, the latter still beat the mainland on some core issues like childcare, healthcare, entertainment and work culture.

Almost half of the expats surveyed living in the mainland said they enjoyed a better work-life balance than in their home country. And despite frequent reports about China's hazardous air pollution, 45 per cent of expats said life in the People's Republic did not bother them.

According to some, the mainland's increased appeal over Hong Kong could be its comparatively inexpensive cost of living.  In fact, life in Hong Kong was more expensive than in all major Chinese cities.

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