The age of the 2.2 million Albanians living abroad is quite young, according to data from the European Union's Ces Hub.
Most EU countries conducted population censuses in 2021, which identified the immigrant population by country of origin and age.
In total, 70% of Albanians living in the EU are up to 45 years old. Over 60% of Albanian emigrants are of active working age (15–49 years old), with the 30–49 age group strongly dominating, with 40.7% of the total.
This weight is almost identical for both men and women, indicating that emigration is no longer a phenomenon limited mainly to men, but has taken on a family and more gender-balanced character.
Meanwhile, the structure of the resident population in Albania is significantly older. Within the country, the weight of the over-50 age group has increased significantly in recent years, while the younger age groups and those at the peak of economic productivity have shrunk.
On the contrary, in emigration, the age group over 65 years old only accounts for about 5%, while those over 85 years old are almost negligible (0.3%), which shows that Albanian emigration is mainly an emigration of young and middle-aged people, not of pensioners.
The age group under 15 also has a significant share in the diaspora with 19%, which indicates the presence of immigrant families and a more stable process of settling abroad. Meanwhile, in Albania, the decline in fertility has significantly reduced the share of children in the population structure.
In economic and demographic terms, the graph confirms that Albania has disproportionately “exported” working-age human capital, leaving behind an increasingly older population.
While abroad Albanians are mainly at the ages that contribute to economic growth, domestically the burden on the pension, healthcare and public finance systems is increasing.
According to the latest data from the Census Hub, emigration in the last decade was 56% male in Germany, 53% in Greece and 51% male in Italy. Albanian citizens living in Europe appear to be of a young age, even in relation to the population structure of the host countries.
The migration of Albanians abroad is not a new phenomenon. It has been documented at least since the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with the departure of a large number of inhabitants from Albanian territories.
It still continues to remain active and to have significant impacts, both in the demographic, as well as in the social and economic aspects of the country. / Monitor
