The Caribbean has one of the highest emigration rates worldwide of skilled/tertiary-educated individuals. Even though low-skilled migration has the potential to lift families out of poverty and to enable household investments in housing, education and small enterprises; high skilled migration can have diverse and potentially opposing set of effects in the countries of origin. Emigration can lead to lower provision of services (such as education, healthcare and innovation) that are critical for growth and poverty reduction. 

Governments from traditionally sending countries have not yet developed strategies to better manage issues linked with the high levels of emigration. This has become a prevalent issue among countries in the Commonwealth Caribbean, as most of them have small economies with limited access to international markets. As mentioned by government officials, these factors contribute to a large number of skilled nationals migrating to more developed economies, which results in significant skills gaps within the domestic labour market.