TIRANA, July 23 – About 1.2 million people left Albania from 1990 to 2020, according to The United Nations’ statistics for the Population Division.
Data in the UN report shows that the highest wave of migration occurred from 1990 to 1995, following the collapse of the communist regime and the initial transition from a centralized economy to a market economy. These events caused many Albanians to leave en masse, through embassies or ships. During this period, 443 thousand Albanians fled the country.
The trend continued in 1995-2000, fueled by the riots of ’97. During this period, 180 thousand people left the country. Another increasing wave of migration was observed between 2005 and 2010, with 217 thousand displaced. Another 137 thousand people left the country from 2010 to 2015.
In the last five years, the tendency to flee the country has continued, albeit at a slower pace.
Furthermore, the UN Population Division has foreseen that between 2020 and 2025, 70,000 people will leave the country. Between 2025 and 2030, the UN said that around 55 thousand will leave and that over the following five years, it will decrease again to around 40,000.
Between now and 2100, 615,000 people will leave Albania, according to the UN. This combined with low fertility rates means that Albania’s population could be as low as 1.9 million in 80 years in the best-case scenario, while in the moderate scenario, Albania is expected to have no more than 1 million inhabitants.
In the worst-case scenario with a higher emigration rate and low fertility, there could only be half a million inhabitants by 2100.
