ATHENS – A more than eight-year-long exodus of some of Greece’s best and brightest and youngest in search of work and a better life to escape a crushing economic and austerity crisis has deprived the country of so much brainpower that it has fallen three places, to 44th in the World Talent Ranking.

The survey rates the ability of 63 countries in developing, attracting and retaining talent with Greece also saddled with the problem of a clientelist state rewarding with political favors and holding down entrepreneurs and those with initiative.

The chart came out of the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and showed Greece continuing to fall, critical now that there are signs of a slow economic recovery that needs skilled people to push any hope of a turnaround.

Greece’s score this year is 54.98 points out of 100, taking the country to its lowest position since 2014, when New Democracy was ruling and the Swiss institute began drafting the World Talent Ranking. Its peak was in 2015 when Greece ranked 34th, the first year Tsipras took power and promptly began breaking virtually every promise he made, sending thousands more scurrying to other countries which have benefited from their skills.

IMD examines three domains and uses 30 criteria for its assessments. In the domain of investment and development of domestic talent, Greece improved by two positions to rank 29th. It also climbed two places in the domain of capacity to attract foreign talent, to 54th, but declined seven places in the domain of highly skilled manpower, to 47th.