Young people want to go abroad
In 2018, 7 out of 10 young French people (aged 18-24)* are planning to move abroad.
The reasons for this decision were their desire for adventure (46% of responses) and their search for better career opportunities (40.4%).
Compared to the results observed two years ago, 51% of 18 to 24 year-olds would be more inclined to move abroad.
But it’s not just young people who want to live abroad. A third of French people are more keen to move abroad than they were two years ago. If we look at the data, we see that the number of French expatriates worldwide has risen from one million in 2000 to over 2 million in 2017.
The majority of French people are looking for a lower cost of living (44.3%) or a better standard of living (43%).
Last but not least, 23% of French people planning to leave want to do so for life.
According to the survey, the most popular destinations are Canada, Portugal and Spain.
And after departure?
Other surveys have recently been carried out on French expatriates around the world.
Among expatriates who have already taken the plunge, 46% say they have no plans to return to France in the near future. More than half of French expatriates live outside France for more than five years. In a panel surveyed by My Expat in 2016, 23% said they had lived abroad between 5 and 10 years, and 39% had lived there for more than 10 years.
The reasons why these expatriates leave are mainly family-related: 32% of expatriates say they have followed or joined someone abroad. Then comes the taste for a new culture and the desire to change one’s life. In fourth place come professional career opportunities as a reason for expatriation.
The preferred destinations for expatriates are Europe: 32% of French expatriates were registered on the continent, and Asia. There were 26% of French expatriates in Asia in 2016. North America came 5th with only 8% of French expatriates.
It’s difficult to name expatriates’ preferred destinations, as they vary greatly depending on the panel surveyed. But whatever the destination, it’s always a unique and enriching experience for our expatriate customers. And Mondassur does all it can to provide them with theinternational health insurance they need to leave with peace of mind.
*according to a Yougov study for TransferWise
