Migration of students from Kerala to abroad double, average age 17 years: Govt study
Thiruvananthapuram: A survey conducted by the state government found that the migration of students from Kerala to foreign countries has doubled in recent years. In 2018, 129,763 students migrated from Kerala, but by 2023, this number had increased to 250,000.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan released the report of the survey conducted by NORKA Roots, which centred around 20,000 households in every district in the Lok Sabha.
With students leaving their homeland to study, the number of expatriate Malayalis in foreign countries has increased to 2.2 million. In 2018, this figure was 2.1 million. As per the latest statistics, 11.3 percent of expatriate Malayalis are students. It is revealed that the average age of student emigrants is 17. According to the survey, Malayalis are present in 82 countries.
Another interesting feature is the increase in female emigration, from 15.8 percent in 2018 to 19.1 percent in 2023. Another aspect of this is the migration of women from Gulf countries to Europe and other Western countries. 71.5 percent of female migrants are graduates.
There is also an increase in remittances from expatriates to the state, from ₹85,092 crore in 2018 to ₹2.16 lakh crore in 2023. The average expatriate remittance per family has increased from ₹96,185 in 2018 to ₹2.23 lakh in 2023. Expatriate remittances account for 23.2 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). It is estimated that 14 percent of the remittances sent by expatriates are used for bank loans and 10 percent for educational purposes.
Since 76.9 percent of the expatriates are workers, the survey also recommended that various schemes be devised to ensure better wages and opportunities.
Two out of five households in Kerala have an expatriate.
- - People who migrated with family: 4,20,000
- - Highest number of expatriates in Malappuram and Tirur: 100,000 each
- - Expatriates who returned from abroad: 18 lakh
- - Malayalis in other states: 5,00,000 (1 out of 10 households in Kerala)
- - Returnees from other states: 3,00,000
- - Expats in the 15-59 age group: 62 percent
- - Expats above 60 years of age: 21.8 percent
- - Expatriates up to 14 years of age: 16.2 percent