‘Young want to leave’: Libya’s brain drain, 15 years after Tripoli fell

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that 15 years after opposition fighters took Tripoli and the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is still facing a sustained loss of young professionals who have left to study or work abroad and do not expect to return soon. The article focuses on Libyans in the United Kingdom, including Sarah Mizran, a 32-year-old architect who left for a scholarship and says the country’s instability made building a career at home difficult, and Nader Elgadi, a former media company owner in Tripoli who later settled in Britain after violence escalated around the capital’s airport in 2014.

Both describe leaving as a practical choice shaped by conflict, weak governance and limited opportunity rather than a rejection of Libya. Mizran says she still hopes to contribute to rebuilding the country’s built environment, while Elgadi has founded a charity to connect the diaspora and support cultural ties. The piece presents their experiences as part of a wider pattern in which many educated young Libyans have built lives overseas and now see Britain as home.

The article also places the issue in a broader political context. A European Council on Foreign Relations fellow argues that capable staff remain in Libyan ministries but are often blocked by senior officials and corruption, while a UK risk consultant is more cautious about how much damage the outflow causes. Even so, the report suggests the country’s divided institutions and instability continue to discourage return, making talent retention a central challenge for Libya’s long-term recovery.