Eurostat: Albania Has Lost 1.8 Million People to Migration Between 1990 and 2025

Albania has recorded a consistently negative migration balance over the past 35 years, as the number of people leaving the country has been systematically larger than the number of those returning.

The latest Eurostat data show that, in the period 1990–2025, the difference between departures and returns amounts to roughly 1.8 million people.

Throughout this entire period, Albania has experienced net population outflows every year. This development has resulted in the loss of the country’s most important human capital and has positioned Albania among the leading countries in the world for the deterioration of demographic indicators.

Unlike the former Eastern European countries, where emigration eased in the fourth decade of transition, in Albania the phenomenon has deepened even further after the pandemic.

The highest departure figures were recorded in the 1990s. From 1990 to 2001 alone, the negative migration balance was around 785.7 thousand people, while the average annual loss during this decade is calculated at nearly 65 thousand inhabitants. After the end of the communist regime, these departures were linked to the country’s long isolation during the dictatorship.

The year 1991 leads with a negative balance of 123,619 people. It is followed by 1995 with -118,022 people, 1997 with -107,503, and 1999 with -105,229 more departures than returns. These large waves of emigration were spurred by profound political and economic changes, as well as by the conflicts that erupted during the pyramid scheme crisis.

In the period 2002–2013, the pace of emigration fell, although it remained considerable. The negative balance for these years was around 391 thousand people, or an average of nearly 33 thousand inhabitants per year. The positive performance of the economy and political stability influenced the slowdown in departures.

However, a significant worsening was observed in the years 2014–2025. Departures increased at a time when the country’s population base shrank. For this period, the net loss from migration was around 617 thousand people, with an annual average of nearly 51 thousand inhabitants.

After 2020, emigration indicators deteriorated significantly. The negative balance was 32,853 people in 2021 and 32,497 people in 2022. For the years 2024 and 2025, the net loss is estimated at 28,836 and 28,531 people respectively, showing that entries into the country continue to be considerably lower than exits. Meanwhile, the year 2023 presents a high stock of net migration, around -373 thousand people, as a result of statistical corrections from the 2023 census.

Net emigration has returned to high levels in recent years and has further influenced population shrinkage. After a period of slowdown in the second half of the past decade, the negative migration gap widened again after the pandemic, with about 29–33 thousand more people leaving Albania than entering it each year.

Emigration remains one of the main causes of the Albanian population’s decline over three and a half decades. Even though the scale of departures is no longer the same as in the 1990s, the country continues to lose in net terms about 28–30 thousand inhabitants every year. This pace accelerates population aging, reduces the workforce, and narrows the base of contributors to social schemes.