Record Brain Drain Rocks Britain as Emigration Soars

The UK is experiencing the worst "brain drain" of any country as the British move abroad to seek better lives at the highest rate since just after World War II, a study has found. More than a tenth of the highest-skilled Brits have moved overseas for reasons that one professor said had to "do with quality of life, laws and bureaucracy, tax and all the rest ." Of 3.2 million British-born people living abroad, more than a third are highly-skilled university graduates.

English-speaking countries—the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—are the emigrants' most popular choices, along with nearby France and sunny Spain. A migration expert noted that Britain has been lucky to attract enough skilled immigrants to replace many of those lured abroad, although the population turnover means British society is changing fast. (More United Kingdom stories.)