Hong Kong brain drain threat as nearly quarter of university-educated under-35s say they plan to quit city for work overseas
- Poll finds more than 15 per cent of those questioned don’t plan on returning, with most citing work-life balance and political stability
- Survey shows Britain, Australia and New Zealand among top destinations for those wanting to leave
Hong Kong could risk a brain drain in the next five years after a new survey found a quarter of the city’s university-educated under-35s were planning on leaving to work elsewhere.
The study, which was conducted by one of the city’s biggest youth organisations, also showed that some 16 per cent of those who wanted to leave the city for work said they had no intention of ever coming back, while another 12.6 per cent said they would only consider returning after securing a foreign nationality.
Canada and Britain are offering new pathways to permanent residency for Hong Kong people.
Youth Ideas, a research centre under the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, polled 1,135 of its members aged 34 or below, with graduate or postgraduate education, between January 16 and February 2 this year. About two-thirds of the respondents were making HK$20,000 (US$2,580) or more a month, with 14.8 per cent making HK$40,000 or more a month.
Established in 1960, the federation is the city’s largest youth service organisation, with a membership of more than 300,000. It is funded mostly by government subsidies as well as grants from charities and private and corporate donations.
