Report: Bermuda Experiencing ‘Brain Drain’
1,121 persons — with a median age of 28 years — emigrated from Bermuda between 2000 and 2010, according to a just released report on emigration. Half those who left held college degrees, and the top three destination chosen by emigrants were the USA [39%], the UK [25%] and Canada [16%].
These statistics come from a 2010 Census analytical brief, entitled “Emigration: Bermuda’s Qualified Human Capital Departs.” Released today [Jan 23] by the Department of Statistics, this is the first time a census has collected information on Bermuda’s former residents who have emigrated abroad.
The brief paints a picture of the demographic characteristics of Bermuda’s emigrants by age, sex, race, Bermudian status, highest academic qualification and occupation between the years 2000 and 2010.
Highlights of the emigration analysis include:
- A total of 1,121 persons emigrated from Bermuda between 2000 and 2010.
- The median age of emigrants was 28 years.
- 70% of all emigrants were Bermudian while 27% were non-Bermudian.
- Emigration flows were highest at 41% during the period 2007 – 2009.
- Of the Bermudian emigrant degree holders, 83% were under 35 years of age.
- Employment was the most common reason why persons left Bermuda.
- Emigrants were primarily professionals (29%) and service and sales workers (19%).
The report said: “Bermuda is experiencing the ‘Brain Drain’ effect. Brain drain can be viewed as an ‘economic cost’ to a country, as persons with qualifications and skills leave. Nearly half [48%] or 418 emigrants 16 years and older had a degree as their highest academic qualification.
“This is more than double the proportion of degree holders [20%] in Bermuda’s total population 16 years and older in 2000. As a large proportion of emigrants were degree holders, this is an indication of ‘brain drain’ where highly qualified persons are lost from the host country [Bermuda] to the benefit of the country of destination.”
The full 10-page Census Analytical Brief is below [PDF here]:
This confirms what we all suspect – but I would treat this data as highly suspect.
Why is this suspect? I know people that have left the island for the same reason. Some of them not even having higher education, but they would still take a chance somewhere else.
Loquats? Suspect? This was the plp legacy. Lower standards,scare everyone with a brain out of bermuda. Instead of raising the bar,they lowered it, that way no self improvement is necessary!! Mark Twain said”Thank God for stupid people,they make me look good!”
Suspect for sure given what an anonymous poster has said recently about the goings on at the Dept of Statistics… imo # of people leaving is significantly understated
Agreed the information is deceptive – the brochure clearly states that it only includes the “1,121 persons who were REPORTED to have emigrated” and the survey was, for instance, “unable to capture situations where entire households left the island, as there was no one to provide this information”.
I wonder also if this survey considered Bermudian’s who simply did not return to the island after completing their degrees or overseas professional training? Or have they fallen through this net as well?
What Loquatz is apparently saying – and I must agree – is that that the survey is flawed (“highly suspect”) in that the actual number of Bermudians leaving is no doubt considerably higher than the specific 1,121 mentioned in the report.
Bermuda is just too small, life here is just too much of a hassle and the costs are astronomical which lowers the quality of life. No educated person wants to be limited by this small jurisdiction. If I could leave right now I would too…
Any person with half a brain wouldn’t spend their entire life on this rock. You might have some of the ‘friendliest’ people in Bermuda, but you also have some of the most rudest I’ve ever en-counted.
As u look around its nothing but expats !!!!!!!!!!!TAKEN EVERY JOB THATS AVAILABLE HIGH END TO LOW END ITS NO WONDER PPL ARE LEAVING!!!!!!!!!
Wow..is that a statistic?
Sadly I agree,, Bermudians are becoming very rude and inconsiderate people, you can tell the way people drive and interact with each other on the street.
Please stop with the generalizations. Bermudians are no more rude than people from anywhere else. The problem is people from everywhere want respect without having to earn it. I don’t show up in anyone else’s country with any expectations other than those I place on myself. If you don’t want to be here, we don’t want you here either, so please leave as quickly as you are able. If you do want to be here, show respect and hold yourself to the highest standards. You’d be amazed the results you get when you start with the person in the mirror. However, I suspect by your commments that you may be one of those people who avoid mirrors because the view leaves much to be desired…
You are extremely rude. You have solidified “indeed’s” comment. Bermudians IN GENERAL are very rude and becoming even more rude.
Bermudians are not rude they are people being people and no matter where you go in this world,people will always be people.
If anything I think we are to darn passive to much but when we are vocal,we speak our minds and stand up for what we believe.
That’s exactly the problem. Bermudians are very vocal and give their opinion when nobody asked for it. This can be seen as disrespectful in other cultures.
In Bermuda not speaking to a total stranger in the elevator is disrespectful??
A larger percentage of Bermudians are rude compared to a lot of other places. Perhaps you are not one of them
Not rude does not mean demanding a “good mawnin” from every single action.
Bermudians in general (there are many many wonderful exceptions) are great with pleasantries and rather poor with rudeness. Do not confuse the two
Agreed.
Have to disagree I’m afraid. Plenty of my fellow Bermudians have emigrated to the UK and do nothing but complain, despite the welfare handouts and free medical provision Must be human nature I’m afraid
Is it rudeness or just bad ‘attitude’ (as see so clearly in Pois0n_Dart’s post “If you don’t want to be here, we don’t want you here either, so please leave as quickly as you are able”)…. As a Bermudian who has spent much of my time in Europe the last 12 years I can honestly say that I have only once in that time encountered an individual (in Bologna, actually) who had the kind of attitude that one encounters virtually daily in Bermuda. Let’s be real – Bermuda does have a problem… even the simple “Good Morning!” we are all accustomed to is now all too often confrontational rather than the friendly gesture it once was. Yes Pois0n_Dart’, some should indeed look in the mirror….
any questions? any country could expect moderate swings in immigration, but these stats show an exceptional swing toward excessive departures numbers…..I wonder if these people can be contacted and encouraged to share their reasons for leaving.
“70% of all emigrants were Bermudian while 27% were non-Bermudian.”
Soooo….what were the remaining 3% of emigrants?
“other”
Omg that’s made me laugh
“Emigration flows were highest at 41% during the period 2007 – 2009″.
This period of time is during Ewart Brown’s tenure as Premier. Coincidence? I think not.
Bermy’s gettin leff wif all de dummies!
No, Bermuda has influx of foreign workers taking the jobs of well qualified Bermudians!
The numbers would be suspect as are all numbers that came during the term of the previous Government….these figures came from the 2010 census which took more than twice the alloted time to complete….In my case they showed up 4 different times despite giving the information to the census taker on the 1st visit….same with the figures for unemployment for the longest time the previous Government denied there was unemployment and when finally admitted the figures were 18 months behind and woefully understated…..
Of course the other problem with this is that the stats are old…why cant the DOS get any current info out there? Imagine if we were to include 11,12′s numbers? If you asked the freight movers over the last two years if they were busy they would tell you “yes very” all with containers going out (families leaving) rather than stuff coming in !
If the data is suspect, which part of the Census are you willing to accept? Would you believe Jennifer Smith (former MP) if she made public her visit to my house back in 2012 while asking for votes?
was Jennifer taking a Census?
This report is cr@p. Bermuda has the highest concentration of focused reinsurance talent in the world. It is, and it will remain to be a center of excellence for reinsurance.
Regarding other industries, it is possible some have left, but this report seems skewed. Not only does it seem skewed but the choice of title is a bit alarming, surely that is somewhat of an opinion for a report title. Seems to me like something is up here. It is also indicative of a lame brain “statician” to predict reasons for why people leave. E.g. there could be other factors at play influencing the number.
Anyway, the report should also focus on the other statistics, e.g. Bermuda probably has the most qualified reinsurance professionals in the world on it’s shores.
My concern is not those who have left the island for their personal reasons, it is the lack of jobs for those who chose to remain, and cannot get a job. highly qualified persons from Banking to Insurance with vast knowledge in their fields, STILL unemployed! lets not concern ourselves about those who have been able to relocate BUT for those who are JOBLESS with A BRAIN! I can name 6 right of hand.
I left Bermuda in 2004, and almost every one of my Bermudian friends who did not have the opportunity that I had to leave, wished they could. Today, they still tell me I am lucky.
The grass isn’t always greener in the US; just mostly. I hate paying US federal and state taxes, working in Corporate America is a stressful rat race, and I miss my family a lot. However, I still think living in the U.S.A. is 1,000x better than living in Bermuda.
Also, the recent increase in gun related murders on such a small island has only confirmed that I made the smart decision to leave.
Still, I would like to come back home one day… I think.
Good for you. But just exactly what is considered a Brain Drain? Do we have certain expertise that is leaving for greener pastures elsewhere. Leaving for better and different opportunities elsewhere that are not available in Bermuda is not a brain drain it is simple common sense!
I left in 2003 and you couldn’t PAY me to come back. I too hate paying US taxes but I feel safer (which is a freakin shame) the people are educated and friendly and the only time you encounter a ghetto mess of a person is when you go into the hood! It seems like 70% of the people in Bermuda under 30 are OK with acting a ghetto mess! Men cursing every five mins (such a turn off). ALMOST Every young black girl in Bermuda has to have a child out of wedlock and I do not see this where I live. A girl who has “baby daddy’s” is also called a ghetto mess. Plain and simple…Bermuda is a Ghetto Mess. Our young girls do not have self worth. The amount of gun related deaths in a 21 mile radius is ASTONISHING!!! Yes the crime is terrible in the US but that is over a WIDE spread not 21 miles. It’s really simple people:
- Get tough on crime!!!!!
- Bring the prices down (duty)
- Get some entertainment for tourist
- FIX the education system
I think you’re accusations are too off. Also every black girl?? I know plenty of black girls who have not have children out of wedlock. I happen to be one of them. Plus the US I think can be a little more dangerous than Bermuda. At least the gun violence we experience here isn’t aimed towards innocent bystanders. We don’t have to worry about people shooting up our schools. Overall there’s a lot of good happening in this island. We just don’t hear about it which I think is sad.
Also remember that this was the time frame where the Right of Abode in UK/Europe came about, a few relatives of mine took up opportunities in the UK. Not so much that they HAD to get out of Bermuda, but just to try their hand at something else.
We need people with sense.analitical thinking skills, and interpersonal skills,..there can never be a “BrainDrain” unless we all leave Bermuda, we all posess a “brain”so maybe we are talking about intellectual capital drainage and not “brain drain”. Wherever people go in the world there is a “BigBrother” watch still goingon that has been going on since money was printed! Capital Big Brother will not let you go unless you let it go..Think how much better off we would be if we had technology to do jobs while people stayed home and had gardens,..time to do what they want to do as far as hobbies and we all chipped in to keep such things as our solar systems working and less reliance on oil which is making us the ultimate consumers! STOP being GREEDY! You only advance the cause of the GREEDY UNCARING RUTHLESS BANKING Heads!!!!!Chasing the dollar around the world has not advanced us as a people it has made us uncaring and ruthless like the BIG WIG THUGS in the BANKS who do what they are told by the leaders of the oil industries and Federal reserve.If we stop being greedy and think about what WE want out of life for ourselves we will find that we have the power to survive without money…Remember we bartered before then and always had QUALITY items and were frugal because of our relationship with the earth..
Give me a break. If Bermuda was so bad and people leaving in droves, then we would not be having an issue on Term Limits.
Afterall, if people were wanting to leave, then Term Limits would be a non issue….people would not be sticking around long enough.
In Bermuda, you are far less likely to be the victum of a gun crime compared to the US, Canada and UK. The vast majority of gun crimes here are gang related and do not involve ‘random’ victims.
Also, depsite the economy, it is still easier to find work in Bermuda compared to the US, Canada and UK especially if you have a professional qualification or a degree.
Compared to many other countries, life in Bermuda isnt that bad.
@ flikel I suggest you check your facts: the US has 10.2 gun deaths per 100,000 whereas Canada has only 2.13 and the UK has a minuscule 0.25. You might be safer in the US but you would certainly be far safer in Canada and far, far safer in the UK.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate
To be clear – if you look only at homicides (rather than all gun deaths), the US rate is 3.6 per 100,000, Canada 0.5 and the UK barely registers at 0.04 per 100,000. All of these are well below Bermuda’s rate.
And NOW we learn of 2 more deaths last night – we just equalled the US annual homicide rate for gun deaths in one night!! And you still think “you are far less likely to be the victum of a gun crime [in Bermuda] compared to the US, Canada and UK”???? The UK rate – if applied to Bermuda – would be about one death in 30 years…. Let’s stop the denial – Bermuda has a serious problem.
This report mainly focuses on Bermudians and those with Bermuda status. Term limits is for Expat’s!!!!!!!!!!! Read and pay attention
There have been “random” “innocent” victims but because they were black males you didn’t see it as random. The only time people will finally wake up is when a child, woman, or senior gets caught in the cross fire.
I left for the UK and haven’t looked back. Miss the weather and my family, but that’s all.
Typical! So you’re taking the job of an educated Brit, who then has to leave the country of his birth just to get a job.
2 more men murdered tonight … I can’t blame the people who can and want to leave, for seeking a safer life with broader prospects.
For me Bermuda is a painful place to live. I came back to Bermuda in 2008 after being in the UK for 10 years for financial reasons. I work in the hospitality industry. I have less than a year left on this rock and I am counting down the days. Bermudian’s are great to work with, however I found working in the hotel industry in Bermuda to be toxic. I am socked at how many people try to bring you down behind your back and this has been at a number of establishments. I feel you have to be very careful who you can trust. Once you know who your allies are, they are the best. I feel some Bermudian’s are snakes and will try and destroy you in your job, you just need to know you you are dealing with, who are your allies and who are your enemies. If anyone is about to enter the industry I have one piece of advice, watch your back.