How many Chinese are going abroad and why

(Translated from Sohu.com)

Among the Chinese who go to foreign countries, some are for the shopping spree, some for traveling, some for study, and some are for immigration. Getting out of the country gate is nothing new for today’s Chinese anymore. There are 3 main purposes for them to leave the country, for good.

For overseas medical care: It is not surprising to see the rise of people going overseas for medical care services. As overseas medical care becoming more accessible, many people see seeking help elsewhere as the life-saving straw for their severe health problems.

• 1/4 of Chinese mainland wealthy are not satisfied with their health conditions: with the like of Yao Ming, Pan Shiyi (Chinese real estate tycoon) constantly receiving treatment overseas.
• Every year 90% of total medical tourists opt for overseas destinations, 3000 people seek cure for severe diseases
• Different countries are favored for treating different diseases: Japan is renowned for accurate checkup, the US is preferred for treating cancer, UK is more popular for liver and kidney transplant; whereas Asian countries such as Thailand, India, Singapore, Malaysia have the advantages of low cost treatment.

Top 3 reasons why going overseas for treatment:

1. The cost is not significantly different: the treatment in US can be relatively more expensive, but that of UK, Germany and Singapore are only about 10-30% higher
2. Higher cure rate. In China, there are 3.5 million new cancer diagnosis every year with only 25% cure rate, whereas in developed countries the average cure rate can be up to 65%
3. Top-notched medical equipments and medicines. For instance, the famous so-called “cancer terminator” Proton Radiotherapy System is only available in countries such as the US and Japan.

For study: With the world’s largest population, it’s no surprise that China is the NO.1 student exporting country, taking up 14% of the world’s total number of students who go to foreign countries for education.

• More than 3 million Chinese study abroad during the last 35 years
• 54% chooses to stay abroad upon the conclusion of their study
• China also suffers the highest rate of top talent lose, the average staying rate in the science and engineering segments is 87%

Top 2 reasons for studying abroad:

1. Unfair College Entrance Examination based on residence registration. Every year there are more students circumventing the “single plank bridge” towards university. The number of students refusing to take the exam rises from 840,000 in 2009 to approximately 1 million in 2013, among which 21.1% forgo the exam to overseas universities.
2. The grass is greener on the other side. Overseas institutes are considered to have more humanized educational systems, broader horizon and more importantly more valuable diplomas.

For immigration: Again with a larger population, it is easy for China to crown itself as the world’s NO.1 origin of immigrants.

• There are estimated 9.34 million Chinese immigrant overseas as of 2013, according to “Chinese international immigrant report 2014”
• China is the NO.1 place of immigrant origin for Canada and UK, NO.2 for the US.
• Upper class and elites such as engineers, doctors, accountants, scientists, enterprenuers, inventers are the main force of immigration.
• 59% is immigrating to developed regions, and the 41% less developed places.

Reasons for immigration:

1. Food safety
2. Social welfare
3. Medical services
4. Better retirement life
5. Why not?

It’s not that there is no way to slow down the exodus, as long as China step up its medical, educational, and social security environment, people will stay.