BEIRUT: Muslims are more likely to want to permanently leave Lebanon than Christians, according to new research released Sunday. A poll conducted by an Abu Dhabi-based think-tank showed that 35 percent of Shiite respondents and 34 percent of Sunnis would leave the country if they had the ability to do so, compared with 28 percent of Christians.

The results appeared to belie the perceived wisdom that Christians are more likely to seek to emigrate due to religious persecution.

“It is clear from our research that commonly held beliefs related to migration in Lebanon are not representative of the Lebanese community,” said Dr. H.A. Hellyer, senior practice consultant at the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, which conducted the poll. “The primary reason people desire to leave Lebanon is not related to persecution, but rather to economic issues.”

The Gallup Center conducted face-to-face interviews with approximately 1,000 Lebanese and found that employment and stability were the key determining factors for many people who decided to stay put in the country of their birth.

“Of the Lebanese who say they wanted to leave but decided to stay, 35 percent stayed to get a better job and 27 percent did so because of general improvements in the economy,” a group statement said.

Much has been made of an alleged exodus of Christians from Lebanon and the wider Middle East, in the wake of ongoing regional turbulence. One Beirut publication recently reported that half of all Lebanese Maronites were considering emigrating; another suggested that nearly one third of sect members “have submitted visa applications to foreign embassies.”

Those participants from each religion saying they intended to leave Lebanon favored the United States as their destination, with 15 percent noting they wanted to emigrate to America, followed by 13 percent to Canada, 11 percent to Australia, 10 percent to France and 7 percent to the UAE.

The poll also painted a picture of a remarkably tolerant country – perhaps not surprising given Lebanon’s 19 officially registered sects.

The research found that 76 percent of Lebanese said they strongly agreed that they “would not object to a person of a different religious faith moving [in] next door,” compared with 65 percent of Belgians, 57 percent of Britons and Germans, 53 percent of Italians and 23 percent of Israelis interviewed.

In addition, the poll found that religion still formed a crucial part of life in Lebanon. Eighty-two percent of Lebanese Muslims said they considered religion to be important, compared with 86 percent of Christians. In Lebanon, 50 percent of Muslims said they had attended a religious service within the last seven days, compared with 65 percent of Christians.

Several prominent academics have voiced concerns over Lebanon’s ongoing “brain drain”; one study in 2009 found that almost 20,000 highly skilled Lebanese graduates were leaving the country each year.

However, the Gallup study found that the trend was not present among those interviewed.

“Generally, neither Christians nor Muslims express an overwhelming desire to leave the country,” a report accompanying the poll said.