Alarming Numbers: 315,000 Citizens left Bosnia and Herzegovina

According to the data of the Union for Sustainable Return of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 2013 to 2020, 315 thousand citizens left our country. The pandemic has somewhat halted the departure, except to Germany, where the emigration of medical staff and caregivers has continued. To a somewhat lesser extent, citizens go to work in Slovenia as well.

Davor Vukojevic, a civil engineer from Banja Luka, tells us that he did not regret moving to Germany.

”I did not see that anything could change for the better in the near future, I felt social insecurity and decided to leave,” says Vukojevic. He replaced his hometown with Munich, where he found a job in the profession. He points out that his only concern now is how to use his free time and money.

“What we like about the championship in Germany is the system that is orderly, organized and that works. There is plenty of work here, so a decent one can always be found. There is no reason to worry, existence is safe. The only thing that is not tolerated here is indiscipline, “said Vukojevic.

The economic crisis, lack of prospects, disrespect for human rights, and the political situation are just some of the reasons why complete families, especially young people, leave their homeland forever and go to the countries of the European Union, they say in the Union for Sustainable Return.

Last year alone, 85,000 people left our country. According to the data of the Labor and Employment Agency, in the last seven years, 5,858 medical workers and carers went to work in Germany, and 52,200 inhabitants of all occupations went to Slovenia

Boris Pupic, a spokesperson for the BiH Labor and Employment Agency: “In 2020, we mediated in the employment of 7,877 workers in Slovenia, which is 45 percent less than in 2019. The fact that Germany was in the lockdown and in one period it was not physically possible to leave, so there was a slight decrease in mediation of 20 percent “, Said Pupic.

Demographer Aleksandar Cavic is also expecting increased emigration after the end of the pandemic, unless the pronatality policy is adopted. He warns of a negative natural increase, last year as many as 17,000 more deaths than births in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Grandparents are not leaving, but what is the working, intellectual and reproductive base of every country, the younger and middle-aged population and those who belong to the older middle-aged. We will remain the land of the elderly, “Cavic pointed out.

If the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not take this problem seriously and do not create the preconditions for remaining, first of all, a job and a more orderly system, the statistical figures will be even blacker, BHRT writes.