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By Gavin Riley- As an increasing number of citizens flee a mix of low-paying salaries, few development opportunities and the psychosocial implications of a high prevalence of crime and violence, Jamaica has the second-highest brain drain index among 177 countries worldwide.
The statistics, as presented by business and economics website TheGlobalEconomy.com, indicated that Jamaica, with a human flight and brain drain index score of 9.1, is only ‘bested’ by fellow small island developing state Samoa, which topped the ranking with a perfect 10.
According to TheGlobalEconomy, the index indicator covers available data between 2007 and 2022 from several sources including central banks, national authorities, the World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral entities.
In arriving at the rankings, the website noted that the “Human flight and brain drain indicator considers the economic impact of human displacement (for economic or political reasons) and the consequences this may have on a country’s development. The higher the index, the greater the human displacement.”
Haiti and Guyana joined Jamaica in the top 10 as Caribbean nations, with most of the worst-hit brain drain countries being either affected by war or political and economic instability.
On the other end of the spectrum, however, Australia was determined to have the lowest rate of brain drain in TheGlobalEconomy‘s ranking, finishing with a 0.4 index score.
Most recently, in December 2021, a panel of experts from the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office (RCO) in Jamaica, alongside the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) found that citizens “most likely to leave are of child-bearing age and often the most educated or skillful.”
“With only 9.3 per cent of male workers and 17.7 per cent of female workers having a degree, the migration of the most highly educated (or those with the most significant potential) could harm Jamaican growth potential, as was recognized in the 2017 policy on migration,” the panel added.
Top 10 rankings, as well as Caribbean placements, can be seen below:
| Country | Human flight and brain drain index score (0=low, 10=high) | Global ranking (Out of 177 countries) |
| Samoa | 10 | 1 |
| Jamaica | 9.1 | 2 |
| Palestine | 8.8 | 3 |
| Micronesia | 8.7 | 4 |
| Somalia | 8.7 | 5 |
| Eritrea | 8.5 | 6 |
| El Salvador | 8.4 | 7 |
| Albania | 8.3 | 8 |
| Haiti | 8.2 | 9 |
| Guyana | 8.1 | 10 |
| – | – | – |
| Grenada | 7.4 | 22 |
| — | — | — |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 6.9 | 35 |
| — | — | — |
| Dominican Republic | 6.7 | 46 |
| — | — | — |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 6 | 74 |
| — | — | — |
| Cuba | 5.6 | 86 |
| Suriname | 5.6 | 87 |
| — | — | — |
| Belize | 5.2 | 97 |
| — | — | — |
| Barbados | 5 | 105 |
| — | — | — |
| The Bahamas | 4.3 | 120 |
Data compiled by TheGlobalEconomy.com
