The Fiji Labour Party has warned that the continued exodus of skilled citizens will have a devastating effect on national development.
The party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry, says Fiji will be left with a large pool of poorly educated people, with disastrous consequences on social and economic development and levels of investment.
He says the vacuum created by the out-migration will be filled by undesirable elements leading to an increase in crime rates, drug dealing and money laundering.
Mr Chaudhry issued the warning after a USP academic, Professor Robbie Robertson, told the Fiji Forward conference last week that Fiji's ethnic Indians will comprise just 20 percent of the population by the year 2022, if present trends continue.
Thirty years ago they comprised 49 percent.
Mr Chaudhry says while ethnic Indians comprise most of those leaving, another worrying trend is the new category of migrant workers such as the 26,000 Fijians who have applied for risky jobs in Kuwait and Iraq, citing lack of opportunities in Fiji.
