Half of young Romanians have concrete plans to leave the country, despite the record economic growth in recent years, which will fully affect the local economy in several years.

A survey shows that 47% of young Romanians have concrete plans to leave the country, according to professor Dumitru Sandu from the Sociology and Social Assistance Faculty of the Bucharest University.

“These are not youth that want to leave, their share is probably higher, these are those who have plans to leave, have seriously thought about this and know where they want to go. It’s not a simple wish anymore, it’s a well-structured idea,” Sandu explained, local Ziarul Financiar reported.

Moreover, this figure reflects the situation in 2015 and it has likely grown in recent years.

This contrasts with Romania’s economic evolution, as the GDP and salaries have increased significantly in recent years. The massive youth migration has mixed effects on the economy with both positive and negative aspects, and leads to inconsistent development, according to Dumitru Sandu.

Over 3.6 million Romanians have left the country in the last 20 years. Since Romania’s EU accession in 2007, they have sent EUR 55 billion to the country.

Study: Only 3 in 10 young Romanians choose first jobs in the fields they studied

editor@romania-insider.com