Albanians continue to look to the European Union for their future. According to Eurostat data, young people are dominant in this phenomenon.
62% of those leaving Albania are under 35. This means that our country is losing the most active age group, the one that creates families, consumes, and contributes to the economy.
Around 44,000 Albanians left for the EU alone in 2024. The largest group leaving is 25-29 years old (around 14.3%) and then 30-34 years old (13%). Family members are not stopping at this either. A portion of families with young children are also leaving, so those under 15 years old account for around 18% of those leaving.
"They see fewer opportunities that will give them economic stability. They do not compromise, they do not accept reality, in a kind of rejection. Some young people see that after every effort they do not go very far and for this reason they become demotivated and prefer similar difficulties in another country, but where there are more rules, where laws work, especially in the West. Here in Albania they see that every kind of effort is not rewarded and for this reason they emigrate while they are still very young, while they have not yet created their family," says Entela Binjaku, sociologist.
"One of the main factors for this is that they do not find secure employment, which has a satisfactory salary. The lack of this salary in Albania and job security is the number one factor for young people to leave the country. Whenever we have this opportunity, the lack of receiving the cost of living compared to the payments they receive, we see that the cost is many times greater than the payment we receive at the end of the day," says Gentjana Hasalla, an economics expert.
Experts say that the lack of jobs, based on their qualifications, has led young people to find a solution abroad.
