The findings of last year’s report "Economic Migration of Poles" indicate that 17.8% of people aged 18 are thinking about leaving Poland within the next 12 months to search for better job opportunities, compared to 2021 when 16.1% had this intent.
Young people also form the largest group among potential emigrants, as a whopping 56% of respondents aged between 18 and 44 are weighing the prospects of work emigration to another country.
While in 2021, 81.2% of such respondents stated they did not want to leave Poland, a year later, this number noticeably declined to 67.2%.
The primary drivers behind migration remain to be the pursuit of higher income and a better standard of living abroad.
The average economic migrant is a man aged 24-34 with basic or vocational education who most often works in the service sector.
Such a person typically comes from a village in eastern Poland and has an average financial situation in their household.
The most popular destination for Polish migrants is Europe, with Germany being the top pick, attracting 31.9% of those considering migration.
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom follow closely as the second (17.9%) and third (6.4%) most sought-after destinations, respectively.
According to the National Bank of Poland, just in the first quarter of 2020, emigrants sent remittances amounting to PLN 4 billion (EUR 0.8 billion) to their families.
(pjm)
Source: Przegląd, Money.pl