TIRANA, Jan. 9 – Albanian migrants living and working in Italy send home more than €120 million annually in remittances, making Italy, home to some 500,000 resident Albanians, a key contributor to thousands of households relying on migration income.
“With reference to the contributions made by the Albanian community in Italy to their country of origin, we note that Albania ranks 12th as the recipient of remittances outgoing from Italy in 2016, with 123.7 million euros transferred (-€4.9 million on 2015), equal to 3 percent of the total sum of remittances transferred (more than 4 billion euros),” says the Italian labor ministry in a report examining the Albanian community in Italy.
More than a quarter of a century following the first early 1990s exodus, Albanians in Italy now make up the second largest non-EU migrant numbers in Italy and are one of the best well-integrated communities in the neighboring country across the Adriatic. Their contribution to the Albanian economy has been huge, being a key source of investment and know how at home.
Some 148,000 Albanians residing in Italy, about a third of the total, have acquired Italian citizenship since the early 2000s, local media say referring to data by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.
The Italian labor ministry report shows the more prosperous northern Italy was the prime destinations for around two-thirds of the 442,000 Albanians legally residing in Italy during 2017.
One out of 15 Albanians residing in Italy has started their own business, mainly as self-employed in the construction industry.
In 2017, there were 31,358 Albanian-owned businesses operating in Italy, with around three-quarters running their own small construction firms.
Albania has several famous singers, ballet dancers, chefs and football players in Italy, the country’s main trading partner and one of the top investors.
Integration of Albanians into the Italian society is also shown by more than 1,000 mixed marriages taking place each year.
Greece, where another estimated half a million of Albanians live and work, is also a top remittance source for Albania.
Migrant remittances slightly grew in the first three quarters of 2018, in an upward trend that has seen them modestly increase in the past couple of years following an uphill battle since the 2008-09 global crisis and recession in the Eurozone, hitting more than 1 million Albanian migrants, representing around 40 percent of the country’s resident population.
Remittances slightly increased in 2017 when they recovered to €636 million, up from €616 million in 2016, but yet were about a third below their peak level of €952 million in 2007 just before the onset of the global financial crisis, according to Albania’s central bank.
Remittances were mostly hit by recessions in Italy and Greece, the hosts of around 1 million Albanian migrants, but also rising family reunions.
