26.5% of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova would leave the country for good if they had such a possibility, shows an opinion poll carried out by CBS Research, the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “IDIS” and the Institute of Political Science and International Relations of the Romanian Academy (IPRI). The survey authors note the migration tendencies in Moldova are expanding and most of the respondents said they would remain in the country for a salary of 10,000 to 15,000 lei, IPN reports.
Asked if they would leave if they had the chance to leave Moldova, 38.9% of those polled said they would not leave, 31.9% would leave only for a period, while 26.5% would leave for good.
“Now the number of those who would go abroad is higher, even if not considerably. The tendency is expanding yet. This phenomenon makes us presume that 33,000-37,000 citizens will emigrate this year. Last year, our estimates were 35,000-40,000 people and 37,000 people left. This year our estimates are more conservative. We anticipate migration will be large, but lower than in 2020,” said “Viitorul” expert Veaceslav Ioniță.
According to experts, the higher pays are one of the factors that would stop migration in Moldova. Most of the respondents consider a salary of 10,000-15,000 lei would make them stay and work at home.
36.6 % of the respondents – 10,000-15,000 lei
23.6 % of the respondents – 15,000-20,000 lei
22.4% of the respondents – 5,000-10,000 lei
“This year, we have an average salary of 14,540 lei, up 1,100 lei on last year. If the citizens get such a pay in the Republic of Moldova, they will not leave the country. The salary the people want is twice higher than the net official salary. The higher are the pays, the higher are people’s expectations. No matter how high the salaries are, people’s expectations are two times higher and this ratio explains why migration is so large,” explained Veaceslav Ioniță.
The poll was conducted on December 4-15 and covered a sample of 1,055 persons. The margin of sampling error is plus/minus 2.8%.
According to the Generations and Gender Survey carried out by UNFPA Moldova, more than 15% of the country’s population intends to move to another country during the next three years. In the 15-19 and 20-24 age brackets, about one third of those surveyed intend to emigrate during the next three years, while in the next two age brackets (25-29 and 30-34) – about one fourth and this is worrisome.
