Brain drain costs Italy up to €11.4 billion annually as 141,000 citizens move abroad

The scale and cost of talent flight

The presentation of the study "Comprendere e contrastare il fenomeno della perdita dei talenti: la Roadmap per l'Italia" took place at the 52nd Forum Ambrosetti at Villa d'Este in Cernobbio. Prepared by TEHA Group in collaboration with Philip Morris Italia, the report tracks the departure of skilled personnel from the country. In 2024, more than 141,000 Italian citizens moved their residency abroad, with approximately 45,000 holding at least a university degree, representing roughly one third of the total outflow. Over the past decade, cumulative losses exceeded 300,000 qualified citizens. The direct loss in public spending on the education of departing graduates reaches €7.2 billion annually, a sum that expands to between €10.7 billion and €11.4 billion when accounting for potential value added that is never generated domestically.

Drivers and corporate impact

The research evaluated the underlying economic reasons behind the departure of skilled workers through a survey of corporate leaders. A share of 82.1% of participating companies identified low compensation relative to the cost of living as the primary driver, while 46.4% cited distrust in the nation's future and its public institutions. Scarce professional advancement opportunities accounted for 35.7% of corporate responses. The survey recorded that 93.9% of businesses consider talent flight problematic or very problematic for Italy, with approximately half noting a direct operational impact on their enterprises. Although Europe remains the leading destination for emigrants, destinations such as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are attracting an increasing share of specialized professionals.

Valerio De Molli addressed the long-term economic consequences of the outflow during the Cernobbio conference.

This phenomenon affects Italy's ability to transform skills, knowledge and innovation into greater productivity and economic growth, generating an estimated cost for the state of 7.2 billion euros per year for training human capital that no longer contributes to the national system.

Long-term projections and policy proposals

Without structural interventions, the baseline scenario modeled by the researchers through 2035 projects a cumulative loss of approximately 760,000 university graduates. Such an outcome would leave over €120 billion in public educational investments unrecovered and reduce cumulative potential gross domestic product by up to €307 billion. In response, the study outlined a national roadmap structured around five strategic pillars, including corporate wage incentives and improved talent retention frameworks. Currently, 75% of surveyed companies report implementing internal retention policies focusing on structured career paths, continuous education, and flexible working arrangements. Addressing the broader European framework, former University of Milano-Bicocca rector Giovanna Iannantuoni advocated for institutional fiscal flexibility.

I believe it is urgent to ask Europe for a new pact on talent, and just as defense spending is excluded from the European Stability Pact, as an economist I believe we should also ensure that spending on young people is excluded from the stability pact, precisely to give impetus to these young men and women and their dreams.

Government response and domestic employment figures

Minister of Labor Marina Calderone addressed the findings by referencing updated data from the national statistics institute Istat. Calderone pointed out that departures abroad by Italian workers decreased by more than 20% in 2025, while preliminary figures noted a 22.7% reduction linked to changes in the Aire foreign registry. The minister also noted that overall domestic employment reached 24.3 million people, representing an addition of over 1.3 million workers since the government took office. Calderone stated that stable open-ended contracts covered over 16 million employees in July, adding nearly three permanent positions for every temporary contract eliminated across the Italian labor market.