site.btaYoung Bulgarians Increasingly Reluctant to Emigrate - Survey

111 POLITICS - YOUNG PEOPLE - SURVEY

Young Bulgarians Increasingly
Reluctant to Emigrate -
Survey


Sofia, March 12 (BTA) - The desire of young Bulgarians to emigrate is waning, shows a nationwide survey called Bulgarian Youth 2018/2019, which was unveiled by Associate Professor Boris Popivanov of the Ivan Hadjiiski Institute of Sociology at a BTA-hosted news conference on Tuesday.

Some 61 per cent of respondents in the survey say they do not plan to emigrate, Popivanov said. The social structure of emigrant groups is changing, with the outflow of low-skilled youth increasing ever more rapidly. Bulgaria's brain drain is more like a "brawn drain," Popivanov noted.

Practically all young Bulgarian migrants leave their country for financial reasons. They do so in search of higher incomes and better opportunities for their children, the survey shows.

Back in the 1990s, Bulgarian migrants preferred to move to the United States or Canada, but now 42 per cent of those who want to emigrate name Germany as a preferred destination and 32 per cent name the United Kingdom. The European labour market is viewed as an opportunity to seize. Some 42 per cent of prospective emigrants say they have received an invitation from Bulgarians living abroad, Popivanov said.

Young Bulgarians have a very low interest in politics, according to the survey. Only 7 per cent of respondents say they read and watch the news. The participation of young people in political parties is disturbingly low. Generally, they do not feel represented in politics, Popivanov noted.

Only 14 per cent of those polled admit that their political views differ from their parents' views.