According to the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad, more than 350,000 Greek citizens have abandoned their country during the ongoing 7-year economic recession.
Most of the data was gathered directly from statistic bureaus and other official sources in destination countries. In some cases, the exact number of Greeks who registered in local municipalities or attained work permits is not known, and a rough estimate was provided instead. Greek embassies and consulates also contributed to the research, which still lacks reliable data from many countries that host a considerable number of Greek ‘neomigrants’ (such as France, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and almost all Balkan, African, Asian and Latin American countries). Chances are that the real number is much higher, reaching or even exceeding the 427,000 total recently announced in a Bank of Greece report.
For a small country with a total population of around 11 million, these numbers are outstanding, especially if one considers that they correspond to a huge percentage among highly educated and multilingual young professionals. Despite all the financial “bailouts” and political promises, the Greek brain drain continues…
Originally published in New Diaspora on September 8, 2016.