site.btaYoung and Restless: Where Do Young People Want to Live and Work in the EU?

This article is based on content provided by agencies participating in the European Newsroom (ENR), including the Bulgarian News Agency.

What drives young people to pack up and leave their country of birth? According to Eurostat figures from 2023, 14.2 percent of young people aged 15 to 29 were born outside their current country of residence and 11.9 percent were living in another country than the one where they held citizenship. 

The picture is pretty similar across the board – economic difficulties and a perceived lack of opportunities are among the key reasons why young people move to a different country. This goes for EU citizens and non-EU citizens alike. But for the latter, a move also brings along risks. 

Brain Drain

Portuguese sociologist Rui Pena Pires for example said that youth migration and brain drain in his country are caused by low wages and the housing crisis. 

In a recent interview with news agency Lusa, the scientific director of the Emigration Observatory, said that “the difference in salaries and professional prospects” are the main driving force behind Portuguese emigration, especially among younger people. According to Portuguese data, around 30 percent of people between 15 and 39 emigrate. 

Portuguese sociologist Rui Pena Pires: “We pay very low wages compared to the most developed countries in the European Union. It would be perfectly abnormal if, with freedom of movement and this wage differential, there was no emigration.”

Similarly in Slovenia, young people point to housing shortages, insecure economic circumstances, low wages and the lack of career opportunities as their main sources of discontent – though they often praise the quality of life in their home country. Total numbers are small, but still significant for a country with only 2,1 million inhabitants: In 2023 around 1,500 Slovenes aged 15 to 29 left the country. 

In neighbouring Italy, youngsters also consider a future abroad. More than 300,000 Italians who settled abroad in the last ten years were between 25 and 34 years old, according to the National Institute of Statistics (Istat).

To justify their choice, they cite low salaries, the mismatch between the job offers and their qualifications, and the weakness of public services. Among these young people, the proportion of graduates continues to increase. “It is not normal that our country does not ask itself why and does not remedy this haemorrhage,” lamented Renato Brunetta, president of the National Council of Economy and Labour (CNEL), during the presentation of a report on the subject.

Based on a sample of ten countries – mainly European – the report estimated that for every young foreigner who comes to settle in Italy, nearly nine young Italians leave. The youth unemployment rate stands at 19.2 percent as of November 2024, higher than the EU average for under 25s (15.3 percent). 

In Bulgaria between 8 and 10 percent of high school leavers study abroad, with most of them going to EU countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain – however the country also boasts a roughly 10-per-cent share of foreign students, attracted by relatively low tuition fees and living costs.

Faster economic growth – at least compared to the EU average – can help stem the tide. While Croatia experienced a large population outflow after joining the EU in 2013, the decrease has slowed over the last years. Still, among the 373,935 people who emigrated from Croatia from 2014 to 2023 according to the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the largest group were aged between 20 and 39. 

There is a consensus among economists that emigration is closely related to the level of development of the country. Because it is quite natural, especially for young people, to try to realize their dreams and ambitions by going to more developed countries. 

According to Croatian economist Velimir Šonje, this is best shown by two examples, Ireland and Poland, which were once emigrant countries, but after successful economic growth have become countries where more people come than leave. According to some analysts, Šonje added, the trend begins to reverse when a country reaches about 80 per cent of the EU average economic development. Croatia has already come close to that range with somewhere around 78 percent of the European average.

EU candidate country North Macedonia is losing the fight against the brain drain. Eurostat data suggests that at least 200,000 people, or close to 10 percent of the total population of North Macedonia, have emigrated to other countries in Europe over the last two decades. 

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), destination countries for citizens of North Macedonia have primarily been western EU states Germany, Italy and Austria as well as non-EU member Switzerland. But also EU-member countries closer to North Macedonia such as Slovenia, Croatia, and Bulgaria have seen an increase in immigration from North Macedonia in recent years. 

Emigration is causing an increasing shortage of highly skilled people in sectors such as academia and research. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), North Macedonia has one of the highest levels of brain drain in the world. Young people are disappointed by the level of corruption in the country as well as the lack of opportunities and perspectives. 

In Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,777 people officially deregistered their residence in 2023 to emigrate abroad, with Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia being the most common destinations according to official data. Although these figures do not reflect the total number of emigrants, they confirm a trend that concerns politicians and experts alike. 

Additionally, a survey by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)  showed that nearly a quarter of young people in BiH are seriously considering permanently leaving the country, while 23 percent are thinking about temporary emigration. The main reasons are a lack of employment opportunities, low wages, uncertainty about the future, corruption, and political instability.

Experts warn that urgent measures are needed to create better conditions for young people to stay, as this trend affects the country’s demographics and economic potential. One key initiative in this regard is the Youth Guarantee, a European Union program that provides young people under 30 with opportunities for employment, education, internships, or traineeships within four months of completing their education or losing their job. 

However, experts emphasize that, in addition to such initiatives, broader reforms in education, the economy, and the labour market are necessary to establish long-term sustainable conditions for young people to stay and to prevent further population decline.

The Erasmus years

The EU itself has been a major driver in fostering mobility among young people. Most well known is Erasmus+, which was established in 1987 as an exchange programme for students in higher education. Since then, around 16 million people have participated, according to the programme’s statistics. The programme has also widened its scope since its inception, also including among others trainees, youth workers or sports coaches. For the 2021-2027 period some 26.2 billion Euro were allocated to Erasmus+. 

Not always welcome

Yet, a move to the EU for non-EU citizens does not always help to improve their lot. At 47,2 percent, young non-EU citizens in 2023 were twice as likely to risk poverty or social exclusion than youngsters living in their country of citizenship (21.8 percent), Eurostat data showed. Additionally their unemployment rate was at 15,1 percent across the 27-member states, compared with 10.9 percent for young EU citizens. 

With migration remaining a hot-button topic across the bloc, young migrants – even well educated ones – are often confronted with racism and rejection, exacerbating those risks. France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou for example was criticized by even his allies earlier this week after saying there was a growing feeling that immigrants were “flooding” France.

“Foreign contributions are a positive for a people, so long as they remain proportionate,” Bayrou told the LCI news channel. “But as soon as you get the feeling of flooding, of no longer recognising your own country, its lifestyle and its culture, rejection appears.”

In France, a strong factor in non-EU youth migration are incomers from Africa, many of whom are trying to find ways out of endemic unemployment. Tunisia, under French rule until the 1950s, is a case in point: A study published by the Arab Barometer in August found that seven out of 10 Tunisians aged between 18 and 29 wished to emigrate. Official figures show 41 percent of young Tunisians are unemployed – even as 23 percent of them hold university degrees.