A quarter of young people want to move abroad

Some young people in Latvia want to leave Latvia, according to a new study conducted this summer in an international survey in nine European countries. Almost 4,000 young people from the Baltic States took part in it. According to Doctor of Science, researcher Mārtiņš Kaprāns, there is a worrying trend among young people in Latvia: about a quarter of young people want to leave.

The USA, Germany and Spain are the three most popular countries that Baltic young people would like to go to live in.

“The United States has always been one of the countries that has attracted Baltic migrants.

And not just because there are job opportunities, as you might think. But the United States has gained the image of a coveted country through its splendor, movies and pop culture. Germany, I assume, is largely related to its labor market. Of course, Germany with its salaries, but also the labor market, because also from Latvia, is the TOP 3 of the countries where Latvians work, ”said Mārtiņš Kaprāns, a leading researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the University of Latvia (UL).

The most popular emigration countries for Latvian youth are the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. 1,200 young people in Latvia participated in this survey.

“There are about equal parts who do not plan to leave under any circumstances – 26%. And very similar – 24% – are those who have a very strong and strong desire to move to another country, ”said Kaprāns.

According to the data of the Central Statistical Bureau, from 1990 to 2020, the overall migration curve is negative: there are more people leaving Latvia than those returning. People of working age leave Latvia the most – from 20 to 39 years.

“Thus, in 2020, 8.8 thousand permanent residents of Latvia arrived in Latvia and about 12 thousand Latvian residents left,” said Baiba Zukula, Director of the Social Statistics Department of the CSB.

Meanwhile, for Estonia and Lithuania, the summary of migration is positive, which means that people are returning more.

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