Many young Turkish Cypriots wish to migrate, citing financial difficulties, mandatory army conscription and anxiety about the future as reasons, a study showed.
The research facilitated by the E.U.-funded Grow Civic programme found that 57.3% of young Turkish Cypriots aged 18-30, out of a sample size of 302 persons, would like to migrate.
According to the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Halkin Sesi, the study investigates issues facing young people in the north such as mental health, socioeconomic and political circumstances, trust in institutions and migration tendencies.
Of the 302 participants in the study, 51.8% said that financial difficulties are causing them to think about migrating, while 38.6% and 6.6% cited anxiety about the future and mandatory army conscription, respectively, as factors.
Furthermore, according to the study, 44% of participants said they fear they will fail in the future, 45.% said they fear that their labour conditions will get worse and 42.1% said they fear they won’t be able to overcome future challenges.
Finally, 62.9% said they feel that their future is under threat by economic and political changes and 55.3% reported feeling helpless because of the economic circumstances.