Emigration is often framed as a challenge for countries of origin, particularly when it coincides with skills shortages or demographic pressures. At the same time, emigrants constitute a significant reservoir of human capital that can contribute to economic and social development. Through their trajectories abroad, emigrants accumulate skills, work experience and international networks that can support trade, investment, knowledge transfer and innovation. Such contributions can take place through a range of mobility pathways, including skills circulation as well as short-term or permanent return, underscoring the importance of both sustained engagement with the diaspora currently abroad and policies that encourage and facilitate return migration.
Realising this potential requires sustained engagement with emigrant populations and the development of policies that are responsive to their needs and trajectories. A key prerequisite is the availability of robust evidence on the scale, composition and dynamics of emigration. This includes understanding who has left the country, when and where they have migrated, the factors shaping these movements, and the socio‑demographic characteristics, skills profiles and labour market outcomes of emigrants in destination countries. It also requires insight into emigrants’ aspirations, including intentions regarding circulation, return or permanent settlement abroad, as well as their perceptions of the economic, institutional and administrative barriers that may hinder return or slow reintegration. Such knowledge is essential for the design of effective and differentiated strategies for diaspora engagement, return migration and reintegration.
Addressing these questions requires bringing together evidence from multiple, complementary data sources. This report takes OECD migration databases as its analytical starting point, notably the OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC), which provides destination‑country information on the size, geographic distribution, educational attainment and labour market outcomes of Greek‑born emigrants across OECD countries. This analysis is complemented by census‑based evidence on return migration to Greece, a large‑scale database mapping Greek scientist in Greece and abroad, and selected survey data sources that shed light on migrants’ trajectories, intentions and experiences. Together, these sources provide a comprehensive view of Greek emigration, skills circulation and return.
This report is part of the OECD’s series of country reviews on Talent Abroad, which aims to provide accurate, up‑to‑date and dynamic evidence on emigrant populations by country of origin. Drawing on comparative analysis and accumulated experience across countries, these reviews support the formulation of policy recommendations on how to engage emigrants more effectively, facilitate return and circular mobility, and mobilise skills to support economic and social development at home.
The present volume focusses on Greece, a country that has experienced sustained emigration over the past two decades alongside profound economic adjustment and, more recently, a phase of recovery. Against the backdrop of evolving labour market needs, demographic change and renewed mobility dynamics, the report provides an in‑depth analysis of the Greek‑born population residing abroad, examining its size and geographical distribution, socio‑demographic and educational profile, labour market outcomes in destination countries, and recent emigration and return trends. Particular attention is paid to students and researchers, reflecting Greece’s strong integration into international education and research networks and the importance of scientific mobility within the broader skills landscape.
New to this edition, the report also includes a dedicated chapter on Greece’s institutional and policy framework for diaspora engagement and return. It reviews key actors and recent policy developments, and examines how measures on engagement, return migration, research and innovation, and labour market integration interact to support skills circulation and reintegration.