“There is a big difference between desire and action": Libanova on the desire of 80% of young people to go abroad
Kyiv • UNN
A study shows that 80% of Ukrainian youth want to move abroad. However, a demographic expert explains why this data does not reflect the real situation and calls for a focus on trends.
According to a study conducted by the Center for Social Change and Behavioral Economics, about 80% of Ukrainian youth express a desire to move abroad. However, Ella Libanova, director of the Mykhailo Ptukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies, points out that such results do not always reflect the real picture, as the desire to leave does not always translate into actual emigration. She said this in a comment to a journalist of UNN .
According to a study by the Center for Social Change and Behavioral Economics “Parenthood and Fertility”, 80% of Ukrainian youth want to move abroad
Ella Libanova, Director of the Mykhailo Ptukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies, explained why these figures are not true.
When asked whether it was possible to force young people to stay and what steps the state could take to do so, she answered:
“We cannot influence the desire of young people to leave, and it's not the state's fault. You can't ask people what they don't know for sure. Understand that when a young person is asked if he or she wants to leave and study in the West, of course he or she does. That's all.
According to her, there is a big difference between asking such questions and at least taking the first step to make young people leave.
These figures were also before the full-scale invasion. Then, I ask how many of those who “wanted” to get passports abroad got them. There is no need to focus on this
Libanova emphasized that it is worth looking at the trend, because it will show whether the number of young people really wants to leave.
Recently, in all sociological research, I have been relying solely on the trend. I don't care if it's 70% or 50%. I care about the trend. If, after the conditional 50%, it becomes 60%, and then 70%, and so on. If there is such an increase, then we need to think about what is going on
Recall
In 2023, EU countries issued more than 3.7 million residence permits for citizens of other states, including 307,313 permits for Ukrainians.
