Brain drain phenomenon continues to shutter the Greek economy and the Greek social security system, according to a new report published by Greek bank, Alpha.

According to a report published by Alpha on Friday, between 2009 and 2013, 228,000 young Greeks left the country seeking a better life elsewhere. The report highlights that the migration trend for the young Greek generations continued in 2014.

The exodus of the young Greeks has already started to affect the prospects of the Greek economy as the first priority for the highly educated Greek workers is to find a job abroad. According to the report, the young Greeks are seeking better living standards, with better paid jobs and better prospects for social and economic progress.

The basic reasons for the Greek brain drain phenomenon is economic. The combination of the massive unemployment rates together with the continuously declining income for the Greek families, due to pension cuts and high taxes, forces the young people to find a job abroad to live a decent life and support or confort their families back home.

Moreover, the fact that Greece is not so technologically advanced compared with other more developed countries, forces young Greek scientists to migrate as they can find promising jobs which fit to their skills.

Overall, the brain drain is painful and expensive for the Greek economy. University education is free in Greece, so those who leave after graduating take that investment with them. As CNN stresses, the countries where the young Greeks find work benefit from the Greek taxpayers.

Moreover, a policy for boosting employment in Greece is urgently needed to support the Greek social system which is under severe pressure. Right now, the first priority for the social security policies is how to cut even deeper the pensions, affecting even worse the brain drain phenomenon. However, there is an urgent need to boost the resources of the pension funds by supporting the employment of young people.

Brain drain phenomenon in Portugal

The brain drain phenomenon is hitting other EU Southern countries as well. In July 2015, an economic study named, “Three Decades of European Portugal: Balance and Perspectives,” indicated that living standards in Portugal fell to 1990 level.

The Portugal news online, reported that the drop in the living standards is attributed to the internal devaluation economic policies followed by the Portuguese governments, the 2008 financial crisis and the enlargement of the European Union. Moreover, the raise in taxes, instructed by the creditors to the Portuguese governments to receive a bailout, also contributed in worsening the life of the Portuguese people.

The drop in the living standards in Portugal, forced many citizens of the EU country to seek a decent life elsewhere. Economist Augusto Mateus, who led the study, found that despite Eastern Europeans dominating discussions on immigration within in the EU, Portugal is the member state with the highest proportionate number of migrants living in another EU country. Moreover, according to the survey, Portugal has the sixth highest number of migrants in the world when taking into account the percentage of the economic migrants.