“From November 13 to 24, 2024, the DEMOSCOPE Bureau of Express Monitoring of Public Opinion conducted a survey of citizens on the topic “Attitude of Kazakhstani people to the problem of brain drain,” the authors reported.
During this time, 1,100 people were surveyed in Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and 17 regions of Kazakhstan. 47.4% of men and 52.6% of women over 18 years old took part in the survey.
Every fifth respondent (21%) is thinking about moving out of the country. Of these:
6.9% intend to leave in the next 2-3 years
5.6% are planning to, but do not yet have the opportunity to move
8.4% are considering the possibility of moving under certain circumstances.
It turned out that the main reasons for moving from Kazakhstan are low income and lack of faith in a good future.
Analysts point out that the desire to move largely correlates with the age of respondents. People from 18 to 29 years old in total about 25% are thinking about moving, while among 30-year-olds this figure reaches almost 30%. It is noteworthy that every tenth person from the second age category has firm intentions to move (10.7% - "plan to leave in the next 2-3 years").
The reasons for emigration:
desire for higher wages (24.5%)
lack of prospects for themselves and their children (23.9%)
desire to find a better job (14%).
“Young people are more often motivated by the desire to receive a quality education and have conditions for self-development, while middle and older age groups are much more likely to indicate a lack of prospects for themselves and their children,” the study said.
The most attractive countries for Kazakhstani emigration are the United States (7.7%), Russia (6.2%), European countries (5.1%), Turkey (4.6%) and Canada (2.6%). At the same time, 35% of respondents indicated that there are no countries where they would like to move.
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