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Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

This Cost of Living Reports Middle East survey was commissioned internally and forms a small part of our
bi-annual Cost of Living Report UAE 2013/ 2014. It was conducted between April 1st and September 25th
2013. The weighted sample size of 1,500 UAE expatriate Adults (aged 18+). No results are drawn from
subsets of less than 100, to ensure a large enough sample to report from.

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

SURVEY INTRODUCTION

SURVEY INTRODUCTION
This year, for the first time, we surveyed 1,500 HR professionals throughout the UAE to help add a new
dimension to our Cost of Living UAE Report 2013/ 2014.
The Cost of Living UAE Report has been a tool for human resource managers and compensation
specialists for several years now. For 10 consecutive years, the report has been an invaluable guide for
employers, researchers and other decision makers who require access to economic local and global
trends affecting compensations, and the cost of living in the UAE. This year, in an attempt to enhance
the quality of information provided, we have created the Cost of Living UAE Survey, and integrated its
findings throughout our report. This document forms a small part of our 160-page Cost of Living UAE
Report 2013/ 2014 and is provided free of charge; whereas our full reports are priced at AED 4,000 (US$
1,089).
The survey gathers information from 1,500 representative households who are employed in the UAE,
across a variety of industries and job titles. The survey has helped us better understand what UAE
expatriates think of the price and quality of education, healthcare and accommodation throughout the
Emirates; as well as their use of the various transportation methods and their opinions on the overall job
market & personal preferences on current & future employment needs.

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

In addition to expatriates views on compensation, living standard and costs, we were able to gather
information on topics such as employee turnover, across various levels of seniority, willingness to
continue locating in the UAE, along with other job markets that UAE expats consider to be more
attractive options. The survey has shown that employee turnover in the UAE is expected to be at 20%,
with only 25% of senior managers admitting to working for an employer in the UAE for more than 5
years, and only 25% of middle managers remaining in the same job for more than 3.5 years. Moreover,
willingness to locate outside the UAE within the next 5 years was highest among senior managers, with
68% of respondents declaring their intention to move outside of the UAE job market, within the next 5
years.

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

WHATS NEW IN THE 2013/2014

REPORT?

WHATS NEW IN THE 2013/ 2014

REPORT?
In this document alone, we include only the survey results. However, in our full 160-page Cost of Living
UAE Report 2013/ 2014 we have a number of enhancements this year. In addition to interesting findings
on employee turnover, we were able to track several compensation strategies that appeared to be fairly
popular among employers. Not only do we take a closer look at salaries across 100+ job positions, weve
also introduced more analysis on business travel allowances paid by employers in various sectors.
In our housing section, we have introduced a detailed analysis of the freehold and rental market in each
of the Northern Emirates. This is due to the rise in freehold developments across the Emirates,
particularly in Ras Al Khaimah. Alongside our analysis of price fluctuations by property size and type, we
have also estimated vacancy levels across the various Emirates and forecasted price fluctuations as new
developments enter the market.
Our healthcare section has also had its fair share of enhancements, where we have added graphical
representations of what UAE expats think of the quality of healthcare in the Emirates and the price of
both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Moreover, given that in 2013, employer-provided health
insurance has become a mandatory requirement for all employers, we have provided a detailed analysis
of the percentage of employees currently covered by their employer vs. those who are privately insured.
We have also looked at the average number of household members that an employer provides insurance
for and the changes in premium costs as a result of this new regulation.

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

In general, by no means do we impose causations across our report; however we hope to highlight
significant trends and correlations across the UAE in terms of the cost of Living. We believe that the only
tool that can enhance decision making is better access to information. We hope you find this report as
informative as we intend it to be. For more information on our reports please contact us on:

Dubai, UAE
Saaha Offices C, Souk Al Bahar
P.O. Box 300715, Dubai, UAE
Telephone: + 9714 427 2199
Email: info@costoflivingreports.com

Chicago, US
200 E Chestnut St,
Chicago IL 60611, USA
Telephone: +1 312 753 8377
Email: info@costoflivingreports.com

London, UK
1 Tower Place West, Tower Place,
London EC3R 5BU, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 193 9817
Email: info@costoflivingreports.com

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

WHAT EXACTLY IS COVERED IN THE

FULL REPORT?

WHAT EXACTLY IS COVERED IN THE FULL

REPORT?
For more information on our actual analysis please visit our UAE report page on the Cost of Living
Reports Middle East Website here: http://www.costoflivingreports.com/cost-of-living-report-uae.php
Below you will find the full table of contents for this years Cost of Living UAE Report:
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................................5
ACCOMODATION ............................................................................................................................................................................8
ABU DHABI RENTALS ....................................................................................................................................... 8
DUBAI RENTALS ............................................................................................................................................ 14
NORTHERN EMIRATES RENTALS ....................................................................................................................... 23
RENTAL COMPARISON ACROSS ALL 7 EMIRATES .................................................................................................. 32
ABU DHABI FREEHOLD ................................................................................................................................... 35
DUBAI FREEHOLD .......................................................................................................................................... 43
NORTHERN EMIRATES FREEHOLD ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................ 56
FREEHOLD COMPARISON ACROSS ALL 7 EMIRATES ............................................................................................... 61
COMMUNITY FEES & MAINTENANCE CHARGES ................................................................................................... 64
EDUCATION .................................................................................................................................................................................... 66

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................... 66
THE REAL REASONS BEHIND HIGH EDUCATIONAL COSTS ....................................................................................... 67
ARE UAE EXPATS SATISFIED WITH THE QAULITY OF EDUCATION ................................................................................ 69
COST OF EDUCATION ..................................................................................................................................... 70
COST OF EDUCATION CURRICULUM COMPARISON, BY EMIRATE ........................................................................... 74
COST OF EDUCATION EMIRATE COMPARISON, BY CURRICULUM ........................................................................... 75

HEALTHCARE .................................................................................................................................................................................. 77
MANDATORY HEALTH INSURANCE .................................................................................................................... 77
INSURANCE ANALYSIS & COSTS ........................................................................................................................ 79
PERCEIVED QUALITY OF HEALTHCARE & COST OF DRUGS ...................................................................................... 82
COST OF HEALTHCARE .................................................................................................................................... 87
COST OF DENTISTRY ....................................................................................................................................... 89
HOUSEHOLD AND UTILITIES ..................................................................................................................................................... 91
HOUSEHOLD GOODS OVERVIEW GCC COMPARISON ......................................................................................... 91
THE FOOD BASKET......................................................................................................................................... 93
SHOULD WE BE DRINKING TAP WATER? ............................................................................................................ 94
COST OF UTILITIES ......................................................................................................................................... 95

LIFESTYLE ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 97
COST OF THE EXTRACURRICULAR ...................................................................................................................... 97
GLOBAL EXCHANGE RATES .............................................................................................................................. 99
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT ........................................................................................................................................................ 101
BUSINESS TRAVEL & HOTEL COSTS ................................................................................................................. 101
INTERNATIONAL HOTEL COSTS LE MERIDIEN INDEX ......................................................................................... 109
BUSINESS TRAVELERS ................................................................................................................................... 110
CORPORATE TRAVEL .................................................................................................................................... 110
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEATH TOLL................................................................................................ 113
DUBAI TRAFFIC DENSITY COMPARISON ............................................................................................................ 114
PUBLIC TRANSPORT USAGE & TRENDS ............................................................................................................ 114
TRAFFIC FINES ............................................................................................................................................ 116
CAR COSTS IN THE UAE ................................................................................................................................ 117
PUBLIC TRANSPORT COSTS IN THE UAE ........................................................................................................... 118
GLOBAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT COSTS THE METRO INDEX.................................................................................... 119
THE COST OF AIR TRAVEL.............................................................................................................................. 121
BUSINESS SET-UP & LICENSES ................................................................................................................................................ 123
DOING BUSINESS IN THE UAE A GLOBAL COMPARISON ................................................................................... 123
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN THE UAE TIMELINE 2008 TO 2013 ...................................................................... 127
NON-FREEZONES COSTS - DUBAI ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT (DED) ...................................................................... 129
FREEZONE COSTS ........................................................................................................................................ 131
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY......................................................................................................................................................... 134
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ABU DHABI .............................................................................................................. 134
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY DUBAI ..................................................................................................................... 137
JOB MARKET 2013 ..................................................................................................................................... 142
THE ARAB SPRING AND EMIRATIZATION - HOW ARE THEY RELATED? ..................................................................... 144
LABOR BANS AND EXPATRIATE MOBILITY ......................................................................................................... 145
EMPLOYEE TURNOVER CRISIS......................................................................................................................... 146
COST OF STAFF - FINANCE ............................................................................................................................. 149
COST OF STAFF - LEGAL ................................................................................................................................ 151
COST OF STAFF - HUMAN RESOURCES ............................................................................................................. 152
COST OF STAFF - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY .................................................................................................. 153
COST OF STAFF - ENGINEERING ...................................................................................................................... 154
COST OF STAFF - LOGISTICS ........................................................................................................................... 154
COST OF STAFF - SALES & MARKETING ............................................................................................................ 155
COST OF STAFF - MEDIA & PR ....................................................................................................................... 156
COST OF STAFF - RETAIL ............................................................................................................................... 157
COST OF STAFF TOP-LEVEL MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................... 157
CONCLUSION159

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

JOB MARKET .................................................................................................................................................................................142

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

ACCOMMODATION

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

ACCOMMODATION

10

11

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

EDUCATION

12

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

EDUCATION

13

14

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

HEALTHCARE

15

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

HEALTHCARE

16

17

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

18

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

19

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

TRANSPORT

20

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

TRANSPORT

21

22

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

JOB MARKET

23

Cost of Living UAE Survey 2013 2014

JOB MARKET

24

Dubai
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