Drivers of Libyan Students’ Desire for Emigration: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The Libyan revolution, which overthrew Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, did not result in social, political and economic development for the people of Libya. For the youth who played a vital role in the old regime’s downfall, the revolution brought frustration, insecurity, unemployment, disruption of education, uncertainty and a lack of freedom. This article aims to develop an under-researched field of youth migration by exploring the factors that influence desire for emigration amongst the youth in Libya, by using a sample of 500 university students. Modelling the data through binary logistic regression, we found that gender, family, satisfaction with life, the outlook of the country and conflict and war were key factors influencing the Libyan students’ desire for emigration.