Albania's aging and depopulation! In 5 regions, births fell by 10-19%, the South most affected

The country's economic growth is not translating into better living conditions in the country, as the decline in births is deepening year by year. Nationally, babies born in 2024 recorded an annual decline of 5 percent, but in some regions it was many times higher.

According to detailed INSTAT data, the Gjirokastra region led the way for the largest drop in fertility with over 19% in 2024. In the southern region, only 317 babies were born last year, down from 393 in 2023. Compared to 2020, births in the Gjirokastra region fell by 37 percent.

This region has been experiencing a significant decline in birth rates for years and at the same time has the highest dependency on the elderly. At this rate, after 6 years in this region there will be about 12 first grades if no children emigrate.

After Gjirokastra, the regions with the largest drop in births above the national average were Berat with -12.6%, Vlora with -12.6%, Korça with -11% and Lezha with -10%.

The decline in births was present in all regions, but in some it was lower than the national average. For example, in Shkodër births fell by 0.1% in 2024, in Dibër by -0.3%, in Kukës by -2.7%, in Fier by -3.5% and in Tirana by -4.5%.

As can be seen from the graph below, the South of the country has higher rates of declining birth rates due to its older population structure.

Despite the high emigration in recent years, the north continues to have the youngest population, also due to the tendency to have more births.

The opposite has happened in the South, where earlier immigration has aged the region more quickly.

Northern cities, although they recorded the highest population decline in the period between the two censuses, still have a younger population structure than the rest of the country.

Data from the 2023 Census at the municipal level show that Hasi and Kukës have the highest youth dependency ratio at 35 years old and 33% each.

According to the 2023 census data, there were approximately 374,000 young people aged 0-14 in the entire country, which constituted 15.5% of the total population. 26% of this age group is in the Municipality of Tirana and 12% in the Municipalities of Durrës and Kamza.

The overall population declined by 14.8%, while in the younger age groups, this ratio was more than twice as high.

Statistics experts explain this decline with the high emigration of young people and families with children after 2016, through the new form of emigration, economic asylum. The age groups 10-14 years old (41%) and 20-24 years old (41%) also experienced a decline of over 40%.

On the other hand, the municipalities of Himara, Pustec, Finiqi, and Dropulli have an age dependency ratio of over 60%. This means that the elderly over 65 years old in these municipalities make up more than half of the population./Monitor