A third of people in a global survey of 57 countries say they would like to migrate to another nation.

The finding, in the survey by Gallup International, was a slight increase on previous results.

The poll found younger people, including in Europe, are increasingly more mobile. And poor urban populations, especially in the developing world, are desperate to leave for a better place.

“Very successful people from small countries often don’t see enough potential to develop their skills in a small market,” the survey report said.

Gallup International President Kancho Stoychev people migrated for many different reasons.

“Migration, to a certain extent, normal and in many cases positive. Our study reveals that a global average of about one third of the adult population would be willing to emigrate,’ Mr Stoychev said.

“Under the current global circumstances, this is probably the norm.

“Nevertheless, it gives a good indication of the subjective personal perception of the relationship between the place where a person lives and the quality of life that he or she expects or desires.

“Naturally, in times of war and global economic crisis, uncertainties increase, and migration often becomes more attractive. I see no surprise here, actually. The younger and poorer the people, the greater the likelihood of migration,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, the survey found that people from low-income countries want to migrate to a place where the standard of living is higher.

“People always compare. Naturally, people want a better life, but not necessarily because the current one is bad,” Mr Stoychev said.

Surprisingly, the survey shows that more people want to migrate from European Union countries than from non-EU countries.

“Many people in the EU say they would migrate, just because they can. In this case, however, migration is mostly from one EU country to another,” Mr Stoychev said.

“Mobility in the EU is dynamic. It is also one of the freedoms and rights of being an EU citizen,” he said.

“In the non-EU countries covered by our survey — Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Russia and Serbia — the conditions for mobility and the geopolitical orientation are different. Is it possible to migrate, and if so, where to?”

Since the war in Ukraine began, many European countries have seen a considerable influx of migrants from Russia.

These are people who want to escape mobilisation, who oppose the war or who long for a more democratic, open society. But the survey showed only 15 per cent want to migrate.

Mr Stoychev says this is not surprising.

“Many studies have shown high levels of patriotism in Russia and significant support for what we in the EU strongly reject. Historically, Russia has often demonstrated high levels of internal integration in difficult times,” he said.

“Let’s not forget that the dominant narrative there is totally different to that in the West, and that millions of Russians who don’t approve of current events have already left,” he said.

Also surprising is the low figure for countries such as India and Vietnam.

“Both countries have experienced rising growth in the last decade. Willingness to leave a successful team is never very high,” Mr Stoychev said.

“And let’s not forget the cultural and religious aspects, the national identity strengths, the traditions,” he said.