604,000 Albanians acquired citizenship in an EU country in the last 20 years

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604,000 Albanians have been issued passports from a European Union country in the last 20 years, according to Eurostat data, which reports figures from 2002 and has updated them for 2022.

The highest number of passports given was in 2016, with 67,000, followed by 2017, with 59,000. Then there was a steady downward trend until 2022, when passports issued to Albanian citizens from EU countries increased again.

Their increase coincides with the recent wave of emigration that has affected the country, becoming a real concern for the local economy, both in the job market and consumption trends.

Albanian citizens holding a passport make up about 22% of the reported population living in Albania today, which is 2.76 million residents (the Institute of Statistics has not yet published data from the latest Census).

Passports increased by 55% in 2022, with Italy leading

In 2022 alone, according to Eurostat, 50,000 Albanians acquired citizenship in an EU country, ranking third in Europe after Moroccans and Syrians. Italy is the primary country that granted citizenship to Albanian citizens in 2022, accounting for 75.8%, followed by Greece at 19.2%, Sweden (1.2%), and Belgium (0.9%).

Compared to 2021, the number of passports granted to Albanians increased by 17,900 people, or 55%. For Moroccans, the increase was 26,500 passports (or 31%), Romanians (by 9,100 people, or 32%), Syrians (by 6,400 people, or 8%), and Turks (by 3,700 people, or 15%).

The overall number of citizenship acquisitions also increased significantly in 2022 for Ukrainians (by 8,300 people, or 40%), Indians (by 7,900 people, or 49%), Argentinians (by 7,100 people, or 97%), and Moldovans (by 6,300 people, or 42%), while it decreased significantly for British citizens (by 2,900 people, or 31%).

In 2022, compared to 2021, in the top thirty main groups of former citizenship, Argentinians and Egyptians replaced Serbian and British citizens.

Almost 1 million people acquired citizenship in the EU during 2022

989,000 people acquired citizenship in a European Union country where they lived, an increase of 20% compared to 2021.

Most of the new citizenships (in absolute numbers) were granted by Italy (213,700; 22% of the EU total), followed by Spain (181,800; 18% of the EU total) and Germany (166,600; 17%).

The largest increases in the number of citizenships granted to non-citizen residents in 2022 compared to the previous year were recorded in Italy (+92,200), Spain (+37,600), and Germany (+36,600). On the other hand, the lowest rate was observed in France (-15,900), Netherlands (-9,300), and Portugal (-3,700).

Data shows that 87% of all those who acquired citizenship of an EU country where they lived were citizens of a non-EU country. Citizens of another EU country from the country of residence constituted 12%. Whereas the remaining portion, who had a previous unknown citizenship or were stateless, accounted for 1% and 0.7%, respectively.

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