Singapore faces brain drain threat: study

Nearly 2 in 5 post-graduates want to leave.

People in Singapore are generally satisfied with life here with respondents in a survey conducted by Civic Exchange gave themselves an average life satisfaction score of 7.1, compared to 7.4 in Shanghai and 5.8 in Hong Kong. 74% also state that they would prefer to stay in Singapore, even if they had the freedom to live anywhere in the world.

However, the study also found out the desire to leave rises steeply with education. 38% of those with postgraduate degrees would prefer to leave, compared to 17% of those with secondary school education, and 3% of those with primary school education.

"Singapore may have some concerns about brain drain," Civic Exchange said in a report.

Civic Exchange, is a Hong Kong-based public policy think-tank which release a report on wellbeing in Singapore. The Singapore report is part of a larger Asian Urban Wellbeing project, whose first comparative report was launched in June.

According to the report, the largest group among those wanting to move have vocational, technical or associate degrees (making up 39% of all who want to move, with 26% of that education group wanting to leave if they could).

Of those citizens who would move (21% of the sample) males make up the majority, 59% are male and 41% female. Of those citizens who say they would move, fully one in four describes their occupation as Manager or Administrator.

One third (32%) of Managers and Administrators say they would move, far outpacing the 27% in the technical and associate professional level and the 22% of professionals and students.