SOFIA, Oct. 5 -- As many as 23 percent of Bulgarians aged 18-64 consider going to work abroad, a nationally-representative survey showed here on Thursday.

"This does not mean that these people will go tomorrow," said Vassil Tonchev, director of Sova Harris agency, which conducted the survey in the first week of September.

"However, this means that these people are exploring this possibility and potentially a large number of them could take this step," Tonchev said at a press conference.

The pursuit of higher pay was the main reason for 95 percent of those considering going to work abroad, he said.

Three-quarters of those who looked for a job abroad have declared that they would not have done it if they received a salary in Bulgaria from 1,001 BGN to 3,000 BGN (590-1,770 U.S. dollars), the survey showed.

"Only 1 percent said there was no salary to motivate them to stay in Bulgaria," Tonchev said.

According to Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute, in the second quarter of 2018 the average monthly salary in the Balkan country amounted to 1,125 BGN, ranging from 2,663 BGN in the "Information and communication" sector to 697 BGN in "Accommodation and food service activities".

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!