One of every five Bulgarians plans to leave the country to seek work in Europe.

The data comes from a nationally representative poll of Exacta Research Group, conducted on behalf of "Focus" news agency in the period between February 5 and 11 on the occasion of the opening of the EU labor market to Bulgarians and Romanians. The survey involved 1000 Bulgarians of voting age.

Among people aged between 18 and 39 years, the share of those who intend to seek employment outside the country is approximately two times higher than the national average, reaching 37%, the survey showed.

Residents of the largest cities (regional centers) and the villages more often than others say they intend to seek employment in Europe. The desire for migration is higher than average among the Roma and Turkish ethnicity.

The level of education is not the leading factor for migration. The share of college graduates who intend to leave Bulgaria in search of work is below the national average, reported sociologists.

80% of adult Bulgarians say they do not intend to leave the country to seek work.

The share of Bulgarians who say they do not plan to travel to the UK in the next 12 months is even higher - 83%.

In the light of the above, concerns that Britain would be "overrun by labor migrants" are rather unfounded, say the study's authors.

Only 6 % of respondents indicated that they plan to seek employment in the UK in the next year.

These are mainly people aged between 30 and 40, with lower education level, with low standards of living, and residents of small villages.

Minority ethnic groups – ethnic Turks and Roma, planning to visit Britain with the purpose of seeking work, outnumber by large Bulgarians, who have the same plans.

The Exacta agency was established in late 2013 by Lydia Yordanova, former head of the former and now dissolved state-owned National Center for Study of Public Opinion (NZIOM).

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