54 per cent of Kenyans unhappy with residing in Kenya and want to migrate to another country
19 per cent of Kenyans interviewed said they actually planned to move to another country in the next five years.
54 per cent, the third highest among six sub-Saharan Africa countries included in survey said they would like to emigrate to another country according to a survey done by the US-based Pew Research Centre released yesterday.
Out of these, 19 per cent of Kenyans interviewed a year ago said they actually planned to move to another country in the next five years.
55 per cent of those interviewed, listed the United States as their preferred destination.
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That was the highest stated preference for the US among respondents in the six countries polled.
Should they follow up with their immigration plan to the US they will join an estimated 120,000 of their compatriots already there.
For those who believe Europe is their perfect continent they will join another 180,000 Kenyans already living there, according to United Nations data cited in the Pew survey.
The Pew survey did not ask why Kenyans and other Africans want to leave their homelands but researchers note, however, that many African countries “continue to have high unemployment rates and relatively low wage rates”.
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Also read: THIS IS WHY KENYANS ARE SO UNHAPPY
Kenyans are among the unhappiest people on the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2018.
Kenya dropped 12 spots to land in number 124 out of 158 countries in national happiness levels.
Despite Kenya’s capital city even being described as the city in the sun, it seems many Kenyans are walking with a huge black cloud hanging over their heads.
Corruption, poor health services, poor education infrastructures, high cost of living and joblessness are some of the reasons which are pushing Kenyans on the edge.
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Kenya’s rate of unemployment is the highest in the region and equal to those of neigbouring Ethiopia and Rwanda combined, according to Human Development Index (HDI), 2017.
“Political instability and conflict are other factors pushing sub-Saharan Africans to move,” the report states.
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