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Mass exodus, in 2022-2023 alone, nearly 100 thousand Albanians emigrated to EU countries, according to Eurostat

2025-04-01 08:20:00, Sociale CNA

Mass exodus, in 2022-2023 alone, nearly 100 thousand Albanians emigrated to EU

The pace of immigration has accelerated significantly in recent years, surpassing the level of 2015, when a massive exodus was observed.

While in 2015 the data was directly reflected in asylum requests in the European Union, the real indicator is now provided by other data on immigrants who have entered EU countries, published by Eurostat.

The European Statistical Institute reported in its latest publication on migration to the EU that in 2023, around 49 thousand immigrants from Albania were registered. Even in 2022, emigration from our country had been at similar levels, causing almost 100 thousand people to emigrate from the country in just two years, 2022-2023. (The data does not include Greece, which is a main destination for Albanians).

This figure is even higher than in 2015, when emigrants from Albania to the EU reached 44 thousand, according to data processed by Monitor (see graph). The trend was then declining, but a new wave of emigration began after the pandemic.

This time, the departures are no longer reflected in asylum applications. According to Eurostat, in 2022 there were only 13 thousand asylum applications and in 2023 their number dropped to 9,145, unlike in 2015, when asylum applications reached a record of 68 thousand.

While asylum applications create the idea that the trend of emigration is shrinking, it seems that Albanians no longer flee through this form, but through family reunification (mainly Italy), or for work (Germany).

In 2023, about 30 thousand immigrants were registered in Italy, or 62% of the total. Even in 2022, where the state registered about 29 thousand immigrants. Italy has a high number of family reunions, as one of the main historical destinations of Albanians fleeing abroad, but there is no shortage of young people either. In 2023, 59% of immigrants were in the age group up to 34 years old, while 21% were in the age group over 50 years old.

Germany is the second most popular destination, with around 15,000 migrants in 2022 and 14,000 in 2023. In recent years, Germany has been a favorite destination for young people looking for work. More than half of those who immigrated to Germany in 2023 (55%), according to the data, were in the 20-34 age group, with a predominance of 25-30 year olds.

The third is Croatia, which has seen the emigration of over 1,000 people from Albania in recent years, as this country is attracting workers in construction and tourism.

As noted, Greece does not report data, which means that the number of immigrants to European Union countries is even higher than reported.

europe

According to Eurostat, in 2023, 4.3 million people immigrated to the EU from non-EU countries. This figure does not include asylum seekers and/or refugees from Ukraine who have received temporary protection in some countries (see methodological note).

In addition, 1.5 million people migrated between EU countries. Compared to 2022, the number of people immigrating to the EU decreased by 17.9% (from 5.3 million), while the number of people migrating between EU countries remained stable at 1.5 million.

In total, the EU was estimated to have around 10 immigrants from non-member countries for every 1,000 inhabitants in 2023.

In relation to the size of the resident population, Malta recorded the highest rate of immigration from EU and non-EU countries in 2023 (76 immigrants for every 1,000 inhabitants), followed by Cyprus (43) and Luxembourg (40).

On the other hand, Slovakia recorded the lowest immigration rate, with 1 immigrant for every 1,000 inhabitants, followed by France (6) and Italy (7)./ Monitor Magazine