2023 Census/ Which are the cities with the biggest population decline?

2025-03-23 08:35:00, Sociale CNA

Between 2011 and 2023, the population has declined in all regions of the country and for Tirana it has increased by only 1.2%.

According to INSTAT data, in all regions, except for Tirana, the population has been declining during the period 2011-2023, in a range of changes from 28.3% in Shkodra Region and 27.3% in Kukës Region, to 0.7% in Berat Region.

In absolute terms, Elbasan and Shkodra have experienced the highest population decline. On the other hand, the population of Tirana Region has increased by 1.2%, mostly due to internal migration.

The increase in population in Tirana and the decrease in other regions results in an increase in the percentage of the population residing in Tirana, from 26.8% in 2011 to 31.6% in 2023.

Approximately one-third of the Albanian population (31.6%) resides in the Tirana Region. The second region with the highest percentage of population is Fier with about 10.0%, followed by the Elbasan Region with 9.7% of the total population.

Kukës and Gjirokastra have the lowest percentage, with 2.6% and 2.5% of the population respectively. The distribution of the population in the territory of Albania shows a concentration in Fier, Durrës and especially in Tirana.

The 2023 census results showed that the country's population fell at a faster rate than in the first two decades of transition. Albania had 2,402,113 inhabitants at midnight on Sunday and the morning of Monday, September 17-18, 2023, of whom 49.6% are male and 50.4% female. Compared to the 2011 census data, the country's population has decreased by 14.8%.

This decline was higher than in the period 2001-2011 where the population fell by 9.6% or about 300 thousand people, while in the first decade of transition, 1989-2011, the country's population shrank by only -3.1%.

Data show that emigration is the main cause of population decline, as during 2011-2021 the country had a positive natural increase (births-minus deaths) of over 88 thousand people. The country's population would be around 2.9 million inhabitants (natural increase 88 thousand people plus 420 thousand missing people plus 2.4 million inhabitants).

In addition to the decline, the population structure has aged and older people dominate the population structure. Census 2023 data show that the average age of the population reached 42.5 years, increasing by 7 years from 2011, when this indicator was 35.5 years./ Monitor Magazine