Sardinia's brain drain: one in six young graduates leaves

Young Sardinian graduates continue to leave the island . The latest Svimez report reports a constant flow of skills and increasingly early mobility: between 2002 and 2024, nearly 350,000 graduates under 35 left Southern Italy (more women than men), resulting in a loss (net of returns) of 270,000 people.

The cost of this hemorrhage is 6.8 billion euros per year , with "a net and structural transfer of public resources to the country's strongest regions." Furthermore, in the same period, over 63,000 people expatriated. Regarding Sardinia, three years after graduating, 6.7% of Sardinians found employment in the Northwest, 3.8% in the Northeast, 3.4% in Central Italy, and 2.9% abroad.

Why do people leave? First, because of the gap between their education and the professional opportunities available. Second, for economic reasons : a recent graduate in Sardinia earns less than in Lombardy or Piedmont, not to mention Germany, France, or the United Kingdom. Third, in Italy, the social ladder is blocked ; high-quality jobs are limited and reserved for a privileged few. Abroad, if you're talented and willing, you're immediately appreciated, regardless of your origins.

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