Greece is experiencing its worst performance in attracting and utilizing talented workers in recent years, according to the World Competitiveness Center. These data come in contract with the Greek government’s claims that its “brain regain” strategy, the “repatriating” of young professionals to Greece, is bearing fruits.

Greece saw a significant decline in 2024 in the global World Talent Ranking in the labor market according to the World Competitiveness Center – IMD, which measures how economies worldwide perform in retaining their talented workers, through a combination of survey responses and IMD data from 67 economies globally.

Greece ranked 44th on the list, dropping seven places from 2023 and recording its worst position in recent years.

The independent academic institute, also publishes the Global Competitiveness Ranking, where Greece ranks 47th among 67 economies. Data for Greece is collected in collaboration with the Greek Manufacturers Association and IOBE.

As professor of economic geography at the University of Macedonia Lois Lambrinidis explains, the exodus of skilled professionals abroad has not reversed at all, on the contrary, has intensified, albeit with slightly different characteristics from the period of the economic crisis about 15 years ago.

According to ENA Institute research, over 280,000 economically active people left Greece between 2019 and 2022, while since 2010, more than one million people, especially in the most productive age group of 25-44, have moved abroad.

Lambrinidis stresses that thousands of working age people from different professional levels and sectors continue to leave Greece. It is not just scientists and skilled professionals, but also unskilled workers, including both Greeks and migrants who have lived in Greece for decades, or children of migrants who have known no other country but Greece.

What is more, the professor highlights the fact that those who do choose to return to Greece usually do so for personal or family reasons, not for work opportunities. “On the contrary, they know that when they come back, they will find jobs below their qualifications, which is problematic,” says Lambrinidis.