The Top 5 Countries for Outsourcing in the Middle East

February 18, 2018

Middle Eastern nations offer some intriguing outsourcing options despite geopolitical volatility.  The region’s countries features a range of population sizes impacting the overall availability of talent.  Some locales have relative political stability – others suffer from outright political unrest.  But certain nations in the region offer plenty of opportunities for finding the right labor. It’s simply a matter of knowing where to look.

We’ve collected the relevant rankings and research here to give you the “Top 5 Countries for Outsourcing in Middle East”:

#1: Egypt 

In 2016, the European Outsourcing Association shortlisted Egypt as the “outsourcing destination of the year.”  That’s high praise coming from a business group – and it turns out that Egypt ranks high on just about any list of outsource-capable countries you’ll find.  Egypt ranked #10 overall on StatisticBrain.com mostly thanks to a strong cost index – a score of 9 which puts Egypt’s affordability as better than Indonesia and Bulgaria and tied with the most cost-effective nation on the list, the Philippines.

That makes Egypt more than a regional competitor – its skilled labor pools competes for quality and cost on a global level.  Egypt’s large population of 95 million, places it 14th worldwide according to U.N. numbers.  Other rankings such as those from A.T. Kearney’s Global Services Location Index and Clutch.co confirm this data by also rating Egypt in the Top 16 globally.  Based on this, Egypt presents a clear opportunity for finding skilled labor in the Middle East.

#2: Jordan

Jordan is a small country – ranked 92nd in world population – without a widespread level of accessible international labor.  However, it earns the #2 spot on this list thanks to exceptional performance in the other important factors for outsourcing.  Clutch.co says Jordan is “rapidly becoming one of the most competitive locations for global sourcing companies today.”  With solid showings in both cost effectiveness and labor skills, it’s not difficult to see why.

Jordan runs into limitations in regards to its raw labor resources.  With its small population, the access to Jordanian labor can be competitive.  Still, Jordan earned a #6 overall ranking on StatisticBrain.com and #13th overall at Clutch.co.  A.T. Kearney’s index was somewhat lower, but still ranked Jordan as performing well in its level of financial attractiveness (2.86 on their index).  It was the lack of people resources and general availability of labor that demoted Jordan a bit down the list.

#3: Israel

Filling the geographical gap between the two top countries on our list, Israel also helps fill in some of the other skill gaps when it comes to the individual labor profiles of the countries in the Middle East.  Israel’s rank at Clutch.co-#28 – was lower than other countries due to slightly higher prices.  But those prices also yield labor featuring stronger technical skills.  A.T. Kearney’s report confirmed this assessment of the quality of labor in Israel, with the rating weighed down by cost but improved in the categories of “people skills and availability” and “business environment.”

Israel’s population is roughly the size of New York City, which should give you an idea of how relatively small the country’s population is compared to the United States.  But that’s no reason to be deterred from seeking global talent in this country: Clutch.co sees “solid fundamentals”  in the Israeli economy, giving its labor force the stability required to provide effective work on a global scale.

#4: Turkey

With a much larger population than other countries in the region (about 80 million, which makes it larger than even the United Kingdom), Turkey is an clear candidate for global employment.  That result was echoed in the A.T. Kearney report, which placed Turkey as the 21st overall source of global outsourced labor in 2016.

It’s equally worth noting that Turkey did not show up on the other “top outsourcing countries” lists.  While SourcingFocus named the nation a “serious outsourcing destination”, it fails to show up on other top lists.  Why the disparity?

The individual factors listed by A.T. Kearney don’t suggest any glaring weaknesses for the nation – including variables such as financial attractiveness, people skills, labor availability, and business environment.  However, political instability is the issue that prevents Turkey from making its way higher on the rankings.  That said, the strong level of available skilled labor makes Turkey still worthy of consideration.

#5: United Arab Emirates

The economic strengths of the United Arab Emirates are showcased by some of the most ambitious real estate developments in the world.  But how does the nation perform when it comes to providing outsourced labor worldwide?

With a population roughly on par with Israel at 9 million, the UAE benefits from a strong business environment and competitive pay expectations.  The country placed in the top 40 in both the A.T. Kearney and Clutch.co lists overall, which suggests that these strengths make UAE another top contender in the region.

Looking for help on expanding your team to the Middle East?  Want to simplify your international employment process?  Contact Clearfront HR to learn how we can help you navigate the complexity of global human resources.