Migration of the Highly Skilled • 119
Figure 3.7 Migration of Tertiary-Educated Workers in Africa, by Country Income Level, 2000
Low Income Share of Tertiary Educated in Total Migrants Migration Rate among Tertiary Educated
Middle Income
Share of Tertiary Educated in the Labor Force South Africa
0
10
20
30
40
50
percent Source: Authors, based on data from the Global Skilled Migration database (described in Docquier and others 2010).
migration rate of similar workers in Madagascar, another francophone island nation with a per capita GDP one-tenth that of Mauritius. High tertiary-educated migration rates from middle-income African countries are likely to reflect the greater ability to overcome financial and legal barriers to migration. Political conflict can affect the migration of tertiary-educated workers, but it does not always result in the massive migration of the tertiary educated. Migration rates in 2000 among the tertiary educated in seven African countries that suffered from civil conflicts during the 1990s ranged from a mere 4 percent (in Angola) to 42 percent in (Liberia). Various countryspecific factors account for this variation. For example, Portuguesespeaking Angolans are less likely to migrate than English-speaking Liberians, because most destinations for skilled migrants are also English speaking. The presence of an established diaspora in the destination is another key determinant of migration flows, even for skilled workers (Beine, Docquier, and Ozden 2011).
DESTINATIONS OF HIGH-SKILLED MIGRANTS Tertiary-educated migrants from Africa go predominantly to Englishspeaking countries such as the United States, Australia, and Canada. In 2000, 53 percent of all tertiary-educated emigrants from African countries to OECD countries went to these three countries, down slightly from 57 percent in 1990 (figure 3.8). These countries, on the other hand, account for only 28 percent of total African emigrants to the OECD countries.