Albania posts fastest population drop in Europe

TIRANA, July 14 - Albania’s population has dropped 18.2% since 2011—the steepest decline in Europe—driven by mass emigration and a collapsing birth rate, according to Eurostat.

The country has lost over 500,000 people in 13 years, bringing the total to 2.36 million. No other European country saw a sharper relative drop. Bulgaria was second at -12.3%.

Net emigration in 2024 was 28,800—the second-highest in Europe after Turkey, a country with 86 million people. Since the 1990s, each decade has seen roughly half a million Albanians leave.

Natural population growth has nearly vanished. In 2024, births exceeded deaths by just 1,200, down from 60,000 in the early 1990s.

The result: a rapidly aging society. Albania’s median age is now 44.3—up from 31.9 in 2010—nearing the EU average of 44.7.

The labor force is shrinking. Businesses are stalling expansion. Wages are rising without matching productivity. Pension pressure is growing.

Despite this, the government has not treated depopulation as a major national threat.