A NEW Gallup survey revealed that the young Filipino population will possibly decrease by about 9 percent due to migration as more job opportunities open abroad for the talented Filipino residents.
According to the data from the Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI), Gallup Inc. said that the Philippines has a PNMI score of a contraction of 9 percent, with a brain drain of 16 percent and youth population loss of 13 percent.
This means that 16 percent of the Philippines’ highly educated people will possibly leave the country to work or live abroad. Meanwhile, given the option to migrate wherever they wanted, 13 percent of the young population aged 15 to 29, chose to live on countries other than the Philippines.
The poll measured the total potential net change to the adult population by subtracting those who would like to move out of a country from those who would like to move into a country.
“The higher the score, the larger the potential net population gain. Negative scores indicate net population loss. Developed countries such as Singapore would see an influx of highly educated people,” the poll stated as reported by BusinessMirror.
Educated residents constitute those who have completed four years of education beyond high school or have acquired that of a bachelor’s degree. In Southeast Asia, Singapore fared well as it attracted more population while Vietnam fared worst in the region.
“Gallup’s Potential Net Migration Index does not predict migration patterns, but it provides useful information about the people these countries are attracting from around the world and the areas where leaders need to work to ensure they retain the talent already at home,” Gallup stated as reported by The Philippine Star.
As per all the countries rated, New Zealand got the highest PNMI score at 231 percent and would likely see an influx of young, talented migrants. Sierra Leone performed worst as 70 percent of its total adult population wants to leave their home country if they had the opportunity.
Results were based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with 453,122 adults — aged 15 and older — in 152 countries from 2015 to 2017.
The UN General Assembly last week formally ratified Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration that uses 23 objectives to cater legal migration and discourage illegal border crossings. It was agreed upon by 152 countries, including the Philippines, while 12 countries abstained and five voted against.
“While critics of the agreement fear it would open the doors to unchecked mass migration, Gallup’s latest Potential Net Migration Index actually shows that in most of the countries that are refusing to sign, more people want to leave them than come to them,” the survey emphasized.
“Hungary, for example, which became the second country after the U.S. to withdraw from the compact, could see its total adult population shrink by as much as 16 percent if everyone around the world moved where they wanted,” it added.
