KIEV - Ukraine is facing a significant brain drain as talented professionals leave the country to work abroad, a Ukrainian researcher said here Thursday.

"The number of highly skilled specialists with knowledge of foreign languages that are looking to move abroad has risen sharply in recent times," Pavel Rosenko from the Kiev-based Razumkov Center said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

The average age of a potential emigrant from Ukraine was 30 years, he said.

According to studies conducted by local researchers, about a quarter of Ukrainians aged between 18 to 40 years consider going abroad.

"The USA, some European countries, Canada and Russia are the locations that attract thousands of Ukrainian professionals with wide employment opportunities," Rosenko said.

According to the expert, IT specialists, programmers and scientists head the list of those seeking a better life abroad.

Rosenko said a growing trend of Ukrainian students drifting abroad for higher education was also a concern.

"There is a strong possibility that Ukrainian students will stay abroad after graduation, because of better professional opportunities," he said.

The government needed to improve working conditions and to provide decent wages for young professionals to hold them, he said.

According to official figures, Ukraine's unemployment among youth under 25 amounted is currently 20 percent. Some 40 percent of college graduates can not find a job in their profession.

To tackle this trend, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov instructed the Ministry of Social Policy early this month to develop a draft law on the labor market.

According to the Premier, the new law should create new jobs in the country and improve working conditions for professionals.