Reviewer: Taang Sianpu
Affiliation: Zomi Research Institute
Date: September 3, 2025
Abstract
This article offers a critical review and policy analysis of the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) 2025 report A Generation on the Move: Youth Migration and Perceptions in Myanmar. Drawing on the Myanmar Youth Survey (MYS) 2024 with 7,187 respondents, the report highlights that nearly 40 percent of Myanmar’s youth intend to leave the country, driven by insecurity, unemployment, and fear of forced conscription.
This study does not present new primary data but instead provides a critique, review, and policy analysis of UNDP’s findings, situating them within migration theory and the Zomi experience. It critiques methodological limitations, interprets the data through established migration frameworks, and expands on implications for Myanmar’s demographic stability, political legitimacy, and cultural survival. Special attention is given to the Zomi community, for whom migration intersects with identity, survival, and resistance.
The article concludes with policy recommendations at both national and community levels, emphasizing youth empowerment, safe migration pathways, diaspora engagement, and structural reforms as essential to reversing Myanmar’s brain drain and securing its democratic future.
Introduction
Youth migration is among the most urgent challenges facing Myanmar today. The 2025 UNDP report A Generation on the Move provides the most comprehensive dataset yet on the migration intentions of Myanmar’s youth. According to the Myanmar Youth Survey 2024, nearly 40 percent of young people would leave the country if given the chance.
This study does not present new primary data but instead provides a scholarly critique, review, and policy analysis of UNDP’s findings, situating them within migration theory and the Zomi experience. In doing so, it evaluates the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the report, interprets its results through the lens of migration theory, and reflects on implications for Myanmar broadly and the Zomi community in particular.
Key Findings of the UNDP Report
- High Migration Intentions: Nearly 40% of youth want to leave Myanmar; intent is highest in Rakhine, Chin, and Shan.
- Drivers of Migration: 74% cite unemployment; 22% cite conflict; 12% cite lack of rights; 9% fear conscription.
- Brain Drain: Educated youth are disproportionately likely to migrate.
- Destinations: Japan, Thailand, and South Korea are top preferences.
- Return Intentions: 90% would return if conditions improve.
- Perceptions: 55% believe Myanmar is moving in the wrong direction; 68% still believe peace is possible.
Critical Analysis
Strengths
- Mixed-methods design (survey + FGDs).
- Theoretical integration of push–pull and aspiration–capability frameworks.
- Practical recommendations linking migration with livelihoods and governance.
Weaknesses
- Phone-based surveys excluded the most marginalized youth.
- National averages obscure ethnic variation (Zomi, Chin, Kachin, etc.).
- Political neutrality avoids directly addressing junta responsibility.
- Diaspora’s transformative role is underexplored.
Theoretical Contribution
The findings confirm Hein de Haas’s aspiration–capability framework: aspirations to migrate increase with education, but capabilities are constrained by financial and legal barriers. This produces “frustrated migration.” Migration in Myanmar, therefore, is not just economic but also a political act of resistance against repression and forced conscription.
Implications
- Demographic: Outmigration erodes the demographic dividend.
- Economic: Skilled worker shortages undermine recovery; remittances provide relief but fuel dependency.
- Political: Migration reflects a legitimacy deficit for the junta.
- Cultural: For Zomi youth, migration is both survival and cultural risk; diaspora communities preserve identity abroad.
Zomi Interests and Policy Dimensions
The Zomi, concentrated in Chin State, Sagaing, and across the diaspora, experience migration as both necessity and resistance. Exclusion, forced conscription, and discrimination drive them abroad, while diaspora communities sustain advocacy and cultural resilience.
Policy for the Zomi must therefore:
- Address disproportionate risks faced by ethnic youth.
- Strengthen diaspora–homeland links.
- Support Zomi cultural continuity.
- Build reintegration pathways sensitive to ethnic identity.
Recommendations
National and International Policy
- Restore Democratic Governance: Structural reform is essential to stem youth outflows.
- Expand Safe Migration Pathways: Negotiate bilateral agreements with protections for migrants.
- Invest in Education and Livelihoods: Scale up vocational training, digital learning, and entrepreneurship.
- Diaspora Engagement: Institutionalize remittance and skill-transfer programs.
Community and Zomi-Specific
- Zomi Youth Empowerment: Create scholarships and training programs tailored for Zomi youth.
- Cultural Preservation: Support language, literature, and cultural initiatives in migrant communities.
- Diaspora Advocacy: Strengthen Zomi diaspora organizations for international lobbying.
- Reintegration: Develop structured return pathways for Zomi youth post-conflict.
Conclusion
This article provides a critical review and policy analysis of the UNDP’s 2025 report, A Generation on the Move. Myanmar’s youth are not only victims of systemic crisis but also agents of change, resisting repression through migration.
For the Zomi and other ethnic minorities, migration is tied to identity and survival. Unless systemic reforms restore freedom, opportunity, and dignity, Myanmar risks losing its next generation. Yet with targeted investment and diaspora engagement, youth — at home and abroad — can become the foundation of peace, resilience, and renewal.
The original publication is available at https://www.undp.org/asia-pacific/publications/generation-move
Notes and References
- UNDP (United Nations Development Program). 2025. A Generation on the Move: Youth Migration and Perceptions in Myanmar. New York: UNDP.
- Lee, Everett. 1966. “A Theory of Migration.” Demography 3(1): 47–57.
- De Haas, Hein. 2021. “A Theory of Migration: The Aspirations–Capabilities Framework.” Comparative Migration Studies 9(8). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-020-00210-4.
- World Bank. 2024. Myanmar Economic Monitor: Compounding Crises, Special Focus on International Migration from Myanmar. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
