The Central Bureau of Statistics has released a report that ties the school in which Israelis study, and the degrees they earn, to the odds that they will leave the country.
The number of Israelis with Bachelor’s degrees has been on the rise for years, and between 1985 and 2005 a total of 360,500 Israelis earned at least one college degree. Of those, 4.9% resided overseas.
Those with a doctorate were most likely to leave Israel, the report found. Over 10% of those with three degrees resided abroad, compared to 4.8% of those with one degree and 4.2% of those with a Master’s degree.
The number of those with a Master’s degree in medicine who resided abroad was higher, and stood at 7.2%.
Overseas residency was significantly more common among engineers and scientists than among those with degrees in the humanities or in social sciences. It was found to be 1.7 times more common among those with a first degree, 2.8 times more common among those with a Master’s, and 3.7 times more common among those with a PhD.
Not only subject studied, but also place of study was found to have an effect. Graduates of the Weizmann Institute of Science were found to be most likely to leave Israel, with 17.8% residing abroad, while Bar Ilan University had the fewest graduates overseas of any university, with 2.9% living abroad.
The lowest rate of overseas residency – 1.5% - was found among those with degrees in education from colleges.
For purposes of the study, Israelis residing abroad for more than three years were assumed to have decided to reside elsewhere. The study was done in 2011, and looked at people who had earned degrees from 1985 to 2005.