Albania is aging. Currently, one in four people in the country is over 60 years old.
The annual report from the Institute of Statistics [INSTAT] has shown that individuals aged over 60 constituted 23.5% of the total population, with a 1 percentage point increase compared to 2022 and an 8.8 percentage point increase since 2011 when the last population census was conducted.
In 2001, this age group accounted for only 11% of the total population. At the beginning of this year, there were 649,610 people over 60 years old in the entire country, compared to 449,061 in 2011.
The baby boom in the 1960s is leading to a rapid increase in pensioners this decade, as the working-age population is declining rapidly due to declining birth rates and high migration rates.
The number of individuals over 80 years old is also increasing at a rapid pace, indicating an aging population. Their number reached 90,543 as of January 1st 2023, constituting 3.3% of the total population.
The population structure in favor of the elderly signals problems in all aspects.
The pension scheme will face difficulties in a situation where the number of pensioners is increasing while contributors will be burdened by the decline in the workforce.
Official data from the Institute of Social Insurance shows that the number of pensioners is growing faster than the number of contributors. In 2022, there was only 1.1 contributor per beneficiary, compared to 1.2 in 2018.
In the coming years, the contributor/beneficiary ratio will deteriorate further due to unfavorable demographic developments.
