TIRANA, Jan.26 – About 27,000 Albanian minors have sought asylum in EU countries over the course of the past two years, local media reported on Monday referring to the latest EUROSTAT data.
The majority of which are believed to have left Albania together with their families in search of a better life elsewhere in Europe, but many have also left unaccompanied.
The number of asylum requests of Albanian minors ballooned to 21,390 in 2015 from a total of 5,400 asylum applications in 2014, according to Europe’s statistics office.
The largest number of minor asylum seekers was registered in Germany, a country where Albanians ranked second behind war-torn Syria in terms of asylum applications in 2015.
Such a large figure of youngsters leaving Albania could have major implications for the country’s demographics in the future. Often considered as one of the countries with the youngest population in Europe, Albania is slowly getting older. Alongside the mass exodus of the younger generation, lower birth rates and a longer life span are also contributing to an ageing population.
