News More than half of Kenyans would migrate if they could, survey finds

Jobseekers in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

More than half of Kenyans would immediately move to another country if they could, a survey by an international polling agency has found.

The proportion of Kenyans saying they would like to emigrate — 54 per cent — was the third highest among six sub-Saharan Africa countries included in survey results released yesterday by the US-based Pew Research Centre.

But only 19 per cent of Kenyans interviewed a year ago by Pew researchers said they actually plan to move to another country in the next five years. Of those Kenyans saying they wish to leave the country, 55 per cent listed the US as their preferred destination.

That was the highest stated preference for the US among respondents in the six countries polled.

Kenyans reaching the US would join an estimated 120,000 of their compatriots already there. Another 180,000 Kenyans are living in Europe, according to United Nations data cited in the Pew survey.

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Kenya is said to be the fourth-largest source of African immigrants to the US, following Nigeria (280,000), Ethiopia (220,000) and Ghana (160,000).

For the EU countries along with Norway and Switzerland, Kenya ranks seventh among African states’ emigrants. Nigeria is first with 390,000 expatriates in Europe, and Somalia ranks third with 300,000.

The Pew survey did not ask why Kenyans and other Africans want to leave their homelands. Researchers note, however, that many African countries “continue to have high unemployment rates and relatively low wage rates”.

The employment market appears unlikely to improve anytime soon, researchers add, due to “high fertility levels that will mean even more people competing for jobs”.