Half of UK students would are considering leaving the country to seek work abroad upon graduating.

Figures from the Trendence Graduate Barometer UK edition found, of the 15,000 UK students surveyed, the top five countries students would relocate to are the US (63%), Australia (47%), Canada (38%), France (35%) and New Zealand (33%).

Among the students surveyed is a category of 'high potentials' who are defined as those in the top 20% of outstanding academic achievements, have an internship within the UK and take part in extra-curricular activities.

Almost a third (32%) of this group said they would leave the country to find a professional position abroad. Just 9% of all students surveyed would choose not to relocate anywhere.

Trendence UK account director Kathryn Callow said: "We're at high risk of losing some of our most talented and hard working students to other countries. Our data shows many of these students are willing to work more than 55 hours per week and want to perform highly in their jobs, yet they feel they want to go abroad because they can't find opportunities to further their ability in the UK.

"We're at risk of a 'talent drain' because of the current job market and the impact of constant bad news which tells students and graduates there are no jobs available and that future prospects are bleak."

The annual trendence Graduate Barometer surveys 15,000 UK students at over 90 universities. The findings aim to provide graduate recruiters with a deep insight into student opinions on factors such as employer brand, career aspirations and preferred communication methods. The results also form part of the Guardian 300 listings.

Trendence which launched in 2000 allows recruiters to benchmark their brand performance explicitly against named competitors to measure impact on a campus by campus basis.