Lack of Opportunity in Serbia Causes Brain Drain

According to USAID data, of 133 countries surveyed only Guinea-Bissau is losing a higher percentage of its educated young people to other countries.

There is no comprehensive data on how many people have left Serbia in the last 20 years, but according research by Vladimir Grecic from the Institute of International Politics and Economics, the number is around 300,000.

US and Canadian immigration data for the period from 1990 to 2000, collected by Grecic, shows that 82,000 people settled in these two countries  in the nineties and a further 60,000 have made the move since then.

“There is no official data for other countries, but to get the right number, we should probably double this figure. And these are just those who went legally. About 10 per cent of them were highly educated,” says Grecic.

Grecic says that in five years, from 1997 to 2000, about 500 Serbians received a PhD  in the USA and just 10 per cent of them left the country after their studies.

A poll conducted by the Student Union of Serbia, showed that in 2010, 27 per cent of Serbian students were planning to leave the country permanently  after graduating, with two thirds of them citing job opportunities as their key motive.

The main reason for this exodus according to Grecic, is the local job market, although he also notes the poor working conditions and limited opportunities of development in the scientific community.

The Rector of Belgrade University, Branko Kovacevic, claims that his university has spent many millions educating people who have since left the country. He believes that the state has to provide better job opportunities for young academics.

“In order to keep them in Serbia, the state has to open up the labour market to them, to offer them jobs which match their education and salaries that allow them to a live decent, normal life,” says Kovacevic.

Crecic says that the problem will remain until the business climate improves.

“Despite relevant legislation, the business environment is not healthy. Until the government deals with corruption, inefficient administration and political stability, the brain drain won’t reduce,” says Grecic.