Within a year, more than 288,000 Germans have moved abroad. A recent survey suggests many highly skilled professionals are eyeing a move – and most do not expect to return soon.
Within the space of a year, more than 288,000 German citizens have moved abroad. This is confirmed by data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (source in German) (Destatis).
This is more or less in line with the long-term trend as per the linked source. Net migration for German nationals has been negative in the higher 5-digits for several years, while there are more non-Germans entering the country, resulting in a positive net migration.
Edit: We can measure ‘brain drain’ by several standards as we know. One is the Human Flight and Brain Drain Index (HFBDI) that measures the economic impact of “human capital flight”, commonly referred to as “brain drain,” within a country. The index ranges from 0 to 10, where a higher score indicates a greater degree of human capital flight.
The HFBDI shows relatively low scores for higher developed countries, and high scores for countries in the Global South. Germany has a score of 1.6, more or less like all of Europe, North America, and Australia and New Zealand,
The HFBDI average for 2024 based on 175 countries was 4.98 index points. The highest value was in Samoa: 10 index points and the lowest value was in Australia: 0.3 index points.
The world’s two largest countries, India and China, show relative higher brain drains according to this metric with scores of 4.8 and 3.3, respectively.
This is more or less in line with the long-term trend as per the linked source. Net migration for German nationals has been negative in the higher 5-digits for several years, while there are more non-Germans entering the country, resulting in a positive net migration.
Edit: We can measure ‘brain drain’ by several standards as we know. One is the Human Flight and Brain Drain Index (HFBDI) that measures the economic impact of “human capital flight”, commonly referred to as “brain drain,” within a country. The index ranges from 0 to 10, where a higher score indicates a greater degree of human capital flight.
The HFBDI shows relatively low scores for higher developed countries, and high scores for countries in the Global South. Germany has a score of 1.6, more or less like all of Europe, North America, and Australia and New Zealand,
The HFBDI average for 2024 based on 175 countries was 4.98 index points. The highest value was in Samoa: 10 index points and the lowest value was in Australia: 0.3 index points.
The world’s two largest countries, India and China, show relative higher brain drains according to this metric with scores of 4.8 and 3.3, respectively.