Expert names low wages, security concerns as main causes behind brain drain from Ukraine

Director of Institute for Demography and Social Studies under the Institute of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Ella Libanova says low wages and security concerns are the main causes behind a brain drain from Ukraine.

"The causes behind the [labor] migration are varying for different groups of people. There are two factors for those who go abroad as workers: the first one is high wages, and the second one is security. Many parents want their boys leave the country because of ongoing hostilities in Ukraine. Highly skilled workers are going there not because of salaries. Scientists in Ukraine cannot fully unlock their potential like they do in the United States, for example, as the level of technical equipment is much better there," she said at a roundtable on February 28.

According to Libanova, it is necessary to raise wages and salaries to stop the brain drain along. There should be no correlation between the minimum wages and taxes, fees, and fines.

Read alsoLure of Polish riches leaves Ukraine bereft of workers – media"This will provide a sharp rise in wages. If we raise wages every three months by 'two kopiykas,' it will be a disaster. This only pushes prices up. Wages should be raised less often, but more efficiently, and prices will not respond like that," she said.

The expert also drew attention to the issue of student migration. According to her, most of students who study abroad do not return to Ukraine.

"People aged 20, who could work in Ukraine, rather than those who are 45 years old will go abroad. Many European educational institutions run programs from schools, and those children who do not want to receive vocational education in Ukraine go abroad. This is a reality," Libanova said, adding that this results in a high level of aging of the nation.

Read alsoSBU busts human smugglers in EU-bordering Volyn regionThe expert believes that depopulation in the country will continue. "Because since the 1960s, families have not had as many children as it needed to reproduce the generation. The only thing that can prevent the depopulation is the positive balance of migration. People from poor countries always go to the rich ones, and they may come to us from Asia and Africa," she added.

She noted the possible influx of migrants from Eastern and African countries raises a great concern, since it can lead to conflicts in future.

"Ukrainians are not so tolerant. We are not used to living next to a fundamentally different ethnic group. And if people with a different culture and mentality come here, there may be ethnic, sectarian and other conflicts," Libanova said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, according to Bloomberg, more than 1 million Ukrainians in 2015-2017 went abroad to work. Among the reasons for the labor migration of Ukrainians were low wages, the war in Donbas, the devaluation of the hryvnia, and corruption.

According to the sociological group "Rating," the share of Ukrainians who want to move to a permanent place of residence in another country rose from 30% to 35% within a year. Some 72% of respondents note high wages in other countries as the main motivation for working abroad, while 70% of them said they would like their children or grandchildren to study abroad.