News Source Guyana Reported : A report by the United Nations Development Programme has found that Guyana has recorded one of the highest numbers of brain drain in Latin America and the Caribbean, topping the South American region with an 8.2 of a score of 10.
The finding means that Guyana continues to lose almost 90 percent of its skilled and educated people to other countries.
Guyana’s brain drain rate is also listed as higher than neighbouring problem-torn Venezuela.
The report which covers up to 2023 also indicated that in the Caribbean, Guyana is ranked alongside Haiti and Jamaica for the highest brain drain rate.
“Institutional weaknesses play a particularly important role in driving the outflow of talent and human capital. They accelerate the displacement of individuals to countries with stronger institutions, where they can fully exercise their talents and agency. Highly skilled individuals seem to opt for destination countries with high-quality institutions, while low-skilled individuals are more neutral in this respect,” the report noted.
The report comes at a time when the Guyana Government is boasting about increased and better paying jobs for skilled persons, especially young people.
In recent years, the Government has been contending with the increased migration of nurses to the United Kingdom and teachers to the Caribbean.
The report noted that countries in the region with high brain drain may compromise their developmental trajectory.
“Given that human capital is a critical driver of long-term economic growth, sustained high levels of emigration may compromise the growth trajectory of countries, especially in developing ones,” the report noted.
The report also noted that in recent years, remittances to Latin America and Caribbean countries have significantly increased, reaching historic levels in some cases, to the point where it becomes the region’s main external financial flow.
The UNDP findings highlight a critical challenge facing Guyana as it seeks to develop its economy and build institutional capacity while competing with more established nations for skilled workers.
