The median age of the population of Albania reached 38.2 years in 2022, ranking alongside Kosovo among the countries with younger populations compared to other European states, according to Eurostat data. However, in the last two decades, the country has aged at a faster rate.
In 2002, the median age of Albanians (the value that divides the older half from the younger half of the population) was 27.6 years. Over the two decades from 2002 to 2022, it is observed that the population of Albania has aged by 10.6 years, the highest rate among all European countries, which during this period aged by only 4.7 years.
The average age of the EU population reached 44.5 years on January 1, 2023. This means that half of the EU population was older than 44.5 years, while the other half was younger. The average age of the EU population has increased by 2.3 years since 2013 when it was 42.2 years, whereas the population of Albania has aged by 4.5 years during the same period, twice the rate of Europe’s average.
On January 1, 2023, in all EU member states, the average age varied between 38.4 years in Cyprus and 48.4 years in Italy. Between 2013 and 2023, the average age increased in all EU members except Malta and Sweden, where it decreased (by -0.4 and -0.1 years respectively), and Germany, where the average age remained unchanged.
In five EU countries, the average age of the population increased by 4 years or more. The average age in Portugal increased by 4.4 years, the most among EU countries. Greece, Spain, Slovakia, and Italy followed, with increases of 4.0 years, and Albania with 4.5 years.
The European country with the youngest population is Kosovo with a median age of 31.1 years in 2022, followed by Azerbaijan with 33.8 years, Iceland with 36.7 years, and Albania with 38.2 years at the same level as Georgia.
On the other hand, Italy is the country with the oldest population in Europe with a median age of 48 years, followed by Portugal with 48.8 years, Greece with 46.1 years, and Germany with 45.8 years.
Population emigration, mostly at a young age, and declining birth rates are contributing to an increase in the median age, which is the age that divides the population in half.
According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), on January 1, 2023, the median age of the population is 38.8 years, up from 38.2 years on January 1, 2022.
On January 1, 2023, the dependency ratio of young people (the ratio of the population aged 0-14 to the population aged 15-64) decreased compared to January 1, 2022: from 24.0% to 23.8%, while the dependency ratio of the elderly (the ratio of the population aged 65+ to the population aged 15-64) increased from 23.1% to 24.4% during the same period.
