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Albania suffered the largest youth decline in Europe last year

2026-02-04 07:09:00, Sociale CNA

Eurostat data on the performance of the population aged 15-29 in Europe shows a worrying picture for Albania, which ranks first for the highest demographic contraction of this age group.

In January 2025, Albania had 405,832 young people aged 15-29, a decrease of 18,300 in one year, a decrease of -4.32%. The rate of our country's youth depletion is four times higher than that of Serbia, which follows with a decrease of -1.03%.

While countries like Slovakia, Austria, and Turkey record minimal contractions of under 1%, Albania is facing a demographic hemorrhage that exceeds any regional average.

This gap becomes even stronger when compared to countries that are experiencing significant growth in their young populations. For example, while Albania is losing its human capital, countries such as Spain (+2.76%), Bulgaria (+1.98%) and Romania (+1.97%) are seeing an expansion of the 15-29 age group, indicating a reorientation of youth towards the labor markets or their education systems.

While countries like Switzerland, Iceland, and European Union countries are stabilizing or increasing their youth numbers, Albania is further deepening the decline, showing that the need for encouraging policies to keep youth in the country is more urgent than ever.

The shrinking youth population is an alarming Albanian, not Balkan, specificity that is leaving the country without an active workforce and without innovative energy.

The decline of about 18,333 young people in one year means that Albania is losing almost an entire city composed only of students and young professionals every year. Meanwhile, Germany and Italy, the two main destinations of Albanian emigration, are recording an increase in their young population (by 0.50% and 0.72% respectively), as the human capital that Albania is losing is serving as “fuel” for the economies of European Union countries.

While developed countries are managing to absorb young people and increase their demographic base, Albania is shrinking at a pace that makes any long-term plan for sustainable development difficult. If this trend is not curbed by 2025, the pressure on the pension system and on local businesses, which are already suffering from staff shortages, will go towards the point of collapse, making Albania the fastest aging country in Europe. /Monitor