One third of Romanians want to emigrate in the near future, because of poverty, a recent survey by Daedalus Millward Brown reveals. Romania thus ranks second among seven countries in the region based on people's desire to emigrate, after Serbians, and at par with Bulgarians.

In Romania's case, the percentages of people who want to emigrate vary depending on age group, and gender: it is of 40.9 percent for men, and 30.6 percent for women. Most eager to leave the country are those aged 25 to 34 – a 47.9 percent result, compared to the average of 35.6 percent.

Different regions of the country yielded different results too: the intention to emigrate is higher in the region of Moldova, and among those with a low level of education (under 10 grades), and those on a low income, below RON 1,000.

The study was carried on a sample of 2,300 people in seven countries, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in August 2013, among urban inhabitants aged 18 to 65.

“Poverty is by far the most important factor triggering the emigration intention. Men are physiologically inclined towards risk and adventure, so they're poised to make the first step in this direction. On the other hand, this is a traditional society where men have to support the family,” said Daniel Enescu, managing partner Daedalus Millward Brown.

While Germany is the country most of those in the seven reviewed countries would want to emigrate to, the ratio of Romanians and Bulgarians who want to emigrate to the UK is higher than in any other countries in the region. But even for Romanians, Germany is the main emigration target, with a 40.4 percent result. Then comes the UK – 37.1 percent, US – 28.7 percent, Italy – 19.7 percent and France – 18.5 percent.

The low percentages for Italy and France are explained by the fact that Romanian who wanted to emigrate to these countries have already done so, according to Enescu. On the other hand, Latin countries are no longer so rich in job opportunities, which is why most Romanians would rather go to Germany and UK instead.

editor@romania-insider.com