TRINIDAD and Tobago is on a list of nine countries identified as having lost at least one-fifth of its population through emigration, according to a study by the Pew Research Center using 2015 data from the United Nations.

According to the World Economic Forum,  an international organisation for public/private cooperation, which reported on the study,  22 per cent of the local population, amounting to 360,000 people live outside of Trinidad and Tobago.

Another Caribbean island made the list. Jamaica has 28 per cent or over one million nationals living in another country.

The countries of choice for emigration are America and the United Kingdom.

The research said that the impact of this is that many who live from Trinidad and Tobago are among the “highly educated” group.

Emigration can have significant demographic effects on nations, argues the report.

For example, many young adults have left Albania, while emigration is more common among more highly educated groups in Trinidad and Tobago. In some instances, out-migration among particular groups can exacerbate demographic imbalances, such as population ageing, and leave significant skill gaps within these source countries,” stated an article from the World Economic Forum.

The other seven countries with the highest population loss are: Bosnia-Herzegovina with 30 per cent, Albania with 28 per cent, Armenia (25 per cent), Kazakhstan (22 per cent), Syria (22 per cent), Republic of Macedonia (21 per cent) and Portugal (20 per cent).

The research named 10 countries with the most migrants: India, Mexico, Russia, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ukraine, Philippines, Syria and the United Kingdom.