This week we will take little pit stop to answer a question I have received a couple of times now regarding hardship posts. Here we go:

I keep seeing the term “hardship post” thrown around, and was wondering what it actually means and how it is determined?

A Hardship Post is basically anywhere in the world you might serve in the Foreign Service that offers a “hardship differential”. From the State Department website:

“Post hardship differential is meant to compensate employees for service at places in foreign areas where conditions of environment differ substantially from conditions of environment in the continental United States and warrant additional compensation as a recruitment and retention incentive. It is paid as a percentage of basic compensation in 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35% increments. In addition to being paid to permanently-assigned personnel, post differential may also be paid to employees on extended detail either from the U.S. or from foreign posts.”

More simply put, you get paid more money to live in places where living conditions would be considered more difficult than living in the U.S. If you click the link above, you can navigate yourself to a page that will give you a country by country breakdown of what the hardship differential is to live there. The majority of the world offers some degree of hardship differential, and the countries that don’t are ones you might expect living conditions would be quite good, for example most of Western Europe, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

To determine the rate, the state department looks at various factors, gives them a weight, and then determines a hardship score. Those factors are Social Isolation, Physical Isolation, Climate, Medical and Hospital, Environmental Conditions/Sanitation, Education, Community Resources, Import Restrictions (pork/alcohol), Housing and Infrastructure, Crime, and Political Violence/Terrorism. A post doesn’t need to have all of the above to be considered a hardship.

Let’s take a look at Mauritania, where I am currently located. Mauritania can be socially isolating for an American living in a conservative Islamic country with very different cultural values. It is also fairly physically isolating. Flights out of country happen only a few times a week and usually are around midnight, so getting out isn’t easy or cheap. The climate here is fairly hot and surprisingly humid for a desert, and for half the year we get the Harmattan, where our AQI can be one of the worst in the world. Medically, this is not a post for the faint of heart, and even routine consultations need to be medevac’d at times. Sanitation here is non existent to the point that animals roam the streets eating garbage that everyone just throws onto the street. Education options are limited and there is really just one school acceptable to embassy staff and its high school offerings are limited. Community resources from the host government are also very limited. There aren’t really any parks or public spaces, and even the good beaches are private and paid to enter. There are strict import restrictions on pork products and alcohol. Housing is nice, but infrastructure is poor and build quality is questionable. One rain storm will flood half the houses and the entire city, where water will sit for weeks after a single rain. It is a critical crime post. And although political violence and terrorism are rare, the country has a high rate of military coups since it’s foundation in 1960, and huge swaths of the western part of the country near the Sahara are off limits due to terrorist activity.

All of this gives Mauritania a 35% differential, the highest it can be for a hardship post, and reserved for only about 10 or so countries in the world. I also want to say that although I might not have painted a great picture of the country to illustrate my point, it is actually a great place, with friendly people, and as my posts have shown, my family and I are having a blast. It’s often the most difficult places that people experience the most enjoyable tours, and so far I’m finding it to be quite enjoyable.

Now let’s take a look at Iceland. A western country with services and amenities on par and in some cases superior to the U.S. The only real knock against the country is it is physically isolating, being on a remote, cold island in the North Atlantic. Having been there, it is one of the most enchantingly beautiful and wondrous places in the world, but I could also see how those long winter nights can make one feel isolated. It is at least well connected to both North America and Europe from a flight stand point, but it isn’t quick. So for those relatively minor reasons in the grand scheme of things, Iceland is a 5% differential post.

So there we have it. Countries across the world run the gambit of reasons they receive a hardship differential. Some might have every amenity you could imagine, but pollution or the social isolation can be burdensome. Some might have great recreation and the clearest air in the world, but you’re on a tiny pacific island with 30 hour travel times. There is a reason there are so many factors that go into the equation, and why so many countries offer at least some form of hardship differential.