Emigration of university graduates outnumbers immigration by 200,000
Britain has been hardest hit by the global “brain drain,” according to a recent report.
The report, commissioned by the World Bank, found that more than 1.44 million graduates have left the United Kingdom, while only 1.26 million graduates have immigrated to the UK.
That leaves Britain with a net loss of about 200,000 educated professionals.
The rate of emigration as a share of the total skilled workforce is 16.7 per cent — or one in six graduates. While this rate is higher than any other major industrialized country (France is the lowest with just 3.4 per cent), it has fallen from a high of more than 20 per cent in the 1970s.
One of the report’s authors, Federic Docquier, says that brain drain can affect a country’s economic sustainability.
In Britain, the problem is exacerbated by it's relatively low level of university education. Less than 20 per cent of Britons have a university degree compared to 27 per cent in Belgium, 25 per cent in Germany and 22 per cent in France.
Most of the British graduates who leave, emigrate to the United States, Canada and Australia for more highly paid jobs.
The report, commissioned by the World Bank, found that more than 1.44 million graduates have left the United Kingdom, while only 1.26 million graduates have immigrated to the UK.
That leaves Britain with a net loss of about 200,000 educated professionals.
The rate of emigration as a share of the total skilled workforce is 16.7 per cent — or one in six graduates. While this rate is higher than any other major industrialized country (France is the lowest with just 3.4 per cent), it has fallen from a high of more than 20 per cent in the 1970s.
One of the report’s authors, Federic Docquier, says that brain drain can affect a country’s economic sustainability.
In Britain, the problem is exacerbated by it's relatively low level of university education. Less than 20 per cent of Britons have a university degree compared to 27 per cent in Belgium, 25 per cent in Germany and 22 per cent in France.
Most of the British graduates who leave, emigrate to the United States, Canada and Australia for more highly paid jobs.
