Eurostat: Albania has no doctoral graduates in science and ranks last in Europe

Albania ranks last in Europe for the number of graduates with doctorates in the fields of science, mathematics, computer science, engineering, manufacturing and construction, relative to the young population.

Eurostat data show that in 2023, Albania had 0 doctoral graduates per 1,000 inhabitants aged 25–34, compared with 0.9 doctoral graduates per 1,000 inhabitants in the European Union, while in the years before 2023, doctoral degrees in science in our country were at extremely low levels.

The difference is also evident compared with the countries of the region. In 2023, Serbia had 0.5 doctoral graduates per 1,000 inhabitants aged 25–34, while Montenegro and North Macedonia each had 0.1 per 1,000 inhabitants.

In some of Europe’s more developed economies, the indicator was significantly higher. Switzerland led with 1.9 doctoral graduates per 1,000 inhabitants aged 25–34, while France and Luxembourg each had 1.3. Germany and Sweden recorded 1.1 per 1,000 inhabitants each.

Eurostat’s indicator includes doctorates in a group of fields considered directly related to an economy’s scientific and technological capacities: the sciences, mathematics, computer science, engineering, manufacturing and construction.

Gender-disaggregated data show that the situation in Albania has remained at minimal levels in recent years. For men, the indicator was 0 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2021, rose to 0.1 in 2022, and returned to 0 in 2023. For women, the indicator was 0.1 in 2021 and 2022, while in 2023 it was 0.

In the European Union, the difference between men and women is still clear. In 2023, the number of male doctoral graduates in these fields was 1.1 per 1,000 inhabitants aged 25–34, while for women it was 0.7 per 1,000.

In 2024, the EU average rose to 1.1 per 1,000 for men and 0.8 for women. For Albania, Eurostat does not provide data for 2024 in the published table.

The data are part of Eurostat statistics on doctoral-level graduates and are measured as the number of graduates per 1,000 inhabitants in the 25–34 age group.

Data on doctoral students in the sciences are seen as a key factor in bringing technological and industrial transformations to countries. / Monitor