Facts & Figures
$1 million average cost for a three year assignment
For 2003, companies reported that 70% of new assignments were planned to be for one year or less in duration
While the percentage of married expatriates decreased from 70% to 60% between 2002 and 2003, the percentage of married employees whose spouse accompanied them on assigned stayed quite high at 86%.
25,000 multinational corporations in the U.S.
40% of assignments fail to meet company/employee objectives -- 20% fail outright
The most critical assignment challenges reported were spousal resistance, family adjustment and children's education
Healthcare is identified as the number one concern of expats with families
The percentage of female expatriates is expected to rise to 20% by 2005 (from 10% in 1993)
Number of Americans traveling annually outside the U.S. = 5,000,000 or about 1.5% of the population
Sources:
National Foreign Trade Council
Cigna International
World at Work