About 93 per cent of young Bulgarians want to leave the country, while half of the workforce, or about 1.5 million people, are considering emigration. This is according to a survey by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences' Centre for the Study of the Population. Forty-one per cent of those who consider themselves well-to-do want to emigrate. In the past 16 years, more than 700 000 Bulgarians have left the country. About 100 villages have been left deserted because of emigration. Analysts at the centre believe, however, that the stabilisation of the economy and improved standard of living that will result from Bulgaria joining the European Union will decrease the outflow, and may even turn it into an inflow. (Novinar)