Mass emigration/ Albanians are the largest nationality in the EU in relation to population

At the beginning of 2023, there were 27.4 million non-EU citizens living in the European Union (EU), according to Eurostat data. They accounted for 6.1% of the EU population.

In 2023, 25 non-EU nationalities were registered – each accounting for at least 1.0% of all non-EU residents in the European Union; together, these groups represented 74.7% of the total.

The largest communities living in the EU without holding citizenship of a member state were Ukrainians (11.9%), Turks (7.7%), Moroccans (7.1%) and Syrians (5.3%). Meanwhile, Chinese (including Hong Kong) and Russians accounted for 3.9% and 3.3% of the total, respectively.

Albanians rank ninth with around 2.3% of the total number of foreigners living in the EU, after India (3.2%) and the United Kingdom (2.6%).

Albania, first in relation to the respective population

Around 3.2 million Ukrainians and 2.1 million Turks live in EU countries, according to Eurostat data, ranking first in number.

But immigrants from both of these countries come from countries with large populations, with Turkey having 87 million inhabitants and Ukraine 39 million inhabitants, making immigrants in relation to their respective populations only 2.4% and 8.4%.

According to Eurostat, there are about 630,000 Albanians living in the EU (data does not include Greece). This is equivalent to 26% of the population living in Albania, ranking us first in the EU, in relation to population, according to data processed by Monitor. If those living in Greece, which are at least 400,000 people, are added, the figure exceeds 40%.

Kosovo is also at high levels, ranking second for citizens living in the EU, in relation to the respective population, with 25.7%.

The Western Balkans continue to lead, with North Macedonia at 19.6% and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 17.3%.

Residence permits, 73 thousand in 2023 alone

Other Eurostat data revealed that in 2023, around 75,000 residence permits were issued to Albanian citizens from EU countries.

In 2022-2023, a total of 154 thousand residence permits were granted for the first time.

Since 2008, when Eurostat reports data, around 920,000 Albanian citizens have received residence permits for the first time.

Emigration to EU countries is one of the main reasons for the significant population decline. INSTAT found in the latest Census that the country's population has been reduced by 420 thousand people compared to the previous Census in 2011. According to INSTAT, only 2.4 million people now live in the country. /Monitor