Albania has a high level of emigration of the educated population in 2023-2024 and much lower returns compared to 38 countries in the EBRD Region.
Calculations by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the recently published transition report show that around 23% of our country's educated people have already emigrated.
Bosnia, the Palestinian Authority and Tajikistan rank worse than Albania.
The data in the graph below shows that other transition countries have lower rates of brain drain and high returns.
Data shows that over 23% of educated Albanians had emigrated in 2023-2024, only 2-3% of them returned.
The study shows that the country is losing more professionals than it is attracting. Compared to other economies, Albania is positioned in the group of countries with high emigration of educated people, at levels much higher than the economies of Developing Europe, except for Bosnia, which, among other things, suffers from inter-ethnic conflicts and lack of political stability.
Meanwhile, the level of return of professionals remains minimal, much lower than even other small countries in Southeast Europe. In this way, Albania is failing to be an attractive destination for international talent, while it is constantly losing professionals to more developed countries.
Albania has a very large gap between the "outflow" and "inflow" of talent, one of the highest disparities among EBRD economies.
Other domestic studies have shown that Albanian professionals leave mainly for better job opportunities and much higher salaries in EU countries, a more stable career market, and more advanced conditions for research, innovation, and specialization.
Meanwhile, Albania remains unattractive to foreign professionals due to its small market, low competitive salaries, limited opportunities in the technology and research sectors, and an institutional and economic climate that is still considered fragile.
Demographic developments with brain drain are creating a vicious circle for the country that is further pushing emigration. The more professionals leave, the more difficult it becomes to modernize the economy and increase productivity.
On the other hand, the lack of an advanced economy makes the arrival of talents from abroad even less and encourages the departure of those who remain or are trained in the country./Monitor
