The problem is not the brain drain
The challenge of attractiveness: strategies to counter the flight of young Italians
by Max Bergami *
3' min read
3' min read
Many young Italians choose to go abroad. Denatality threatens the survival of our economy, our welfare and our society. The average life span, fortunately, is lengthening and the elderly are increasing in number, but the resources to provide everyone with the necessary services are scarce. For the first time since the Second World War, young people cannot look to the future with the certainty that it will be better than the past, as was the case for the Boomers and the generations immediately following. The ISTAT Annual Report 2025 confirms these facts, which, however, are not new, but problems rooted in the past decades. The situation is serious and, if we do not find solutions quickly, already in 2028 the demand for labour will exceed supply by more than a million jobs, with potentially disastrous consequences for the economy.
Against this backdrop, unfortunately, even interventions in favour of the birth rate and the family do not make it possible to avoid the crisis because their effects are much delayed and more limited than in the past. Not that this is not a way forward, a sacrosanct objective, but it is not enough.
Beyond the brain drain, it is the migration balance of young people (18-34), negative by more than 350,000 in three years, that is the truly worrying figure. Young people leave Italy and do not return.
If motivation is the anticipation of future positive emotions, we risk becoming a depressed country. Moreover, territorial heterogeneity makes the situation worse: while some regions lead the pack in European innovation, others slide inexorably downwards.
In order to right the ship, it is essential to put Italy's attractiveness at the top of the agenda, in order to attract new international talent and bring back young Italians who have had experience abroad. In fact, the objective is not to prevent young people from leaving, but to create the conditions for them to return; an international path, not only for the so-called 'brains', but for all young people, represents an opportunity for individual and societal growth, insofar as it does not result in permanent emigration.
