Factors Influencing the Skilled Migration of Graduates from State Universities in Sri Lanka

Skilled migration has become a major concern for Sri Lanka, as the continuous outflow of state university graduates poses serious challenges to sustaining economic growth, innovation, and human capital development. This study examines the key factors influencing graduates' migration intentions, focusing on political, social, family, and economic conditions. The study population consisted of 30,329 state university graduates in Sri Lanka, from which a sample of 380 respondents was selected using appropriate sampling techniques. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed among recent state university graduates and analyzed with SPSS software through correlation and regression techniques. The findings reveal that unfavorable economic conditions, such as limited job opportunities, stagnant wages, and rising inflation, are the most influential drivers of migration. Political instability, weak governance, and corruption also significantly shape migration decisions, while social factors, including peer influence, perceptions of better living standards abroad, and access to higher education, further encourage the intention to migrate. Family support, through financial resources, logistical help, and existing migrant networks, strongly facilitates this process. Together, these four factors explained 34.5% of the variance in migration intention (R² = 0.345, p < 0.001), with social factors and economic conditions emerging as the strongest predictors. The lack of clear career development pathways, institutional inefficiencies, and low public trust in governance further aggravate the trend of graduate out migration. The study concludes that these combined pressures prevent the country from retaining its skilled workforce long enough to meet development goals.