Over 4,000 first-year students leave Northern Ireland every year to attend universities in Britain, but only one-third return after graduation, according to new research by the Ulster Unionist Party's policy unit.
The statistics also reveal that many more Protestants than Catholics stay away from Northern Ireland when they leave college.
The UUP has now launched a campaign to try to halt this "brain drain" of talent out of the North. Party leader Sir Reg Empey said an important part of his focus in 2006 would be trying to reverse this trend which, he said, carries a serious negative socioeconomic impact for the North.
In 2004, 8,698 students attended first-year college in Northern Ireland while 4,180 studied at third-level colleges in England, Scotland and Wales.
According to Dr Brian Crowe, the UUP's policy and research officer, figures from the North's Department of Education illustrate that two-thirds of the students that study in Britain do not return to the North.
Even allowing for drop-out rates from college, Dr Crowe estimates that the expertise of more than 2,000 graduates is lost to Northern Ireland each year.
"This is a major concern due to the economic significance of it. The Department of Education and Learning has taken a very laissez-faire attitude to student migration," he said.
"There will always be students who want to leave Northern Ireland, but for many there is no choice as there are no places available for them on their desired course."
The UUP is also concerned at the ratio of Protestants moving to Britain for their higher education. More than half of those seeking higher education go to Britain for their third-level education compared to 34 per cent of Catholics.
"The proportion of Catholics moving away to universities is also increasing, but there is no question or doubt that the vast majority are from the Protestant community," said Sir Reg. "Addressing the brain drain is part of our wider policy framework of making Northern Ireland work. We need to increase our skilled workforce for a 21st century economy that we can all be proud of."
The student migration rate for Northern Ireland is startling when compared with England and Scotland. Just 5 per cent of English students leave England to study, while 6 per cent of Scottish students study outside Scotland.
A high 32 per cent leave Northern Ireland to pursue a higher education. The figure for Wales is an even higher 38 per cent, said Dr Crowe, but local politicians were working to reverse the situation, while in the North the department did not recognise that it was "an economic imperative to change the trend".
The UUP has proposed a number of measures including creating more university places; better promotion of third-level education in the North and the targeting of leading businesses to create jobs for quality graduates.