Albania and Kosovo are the two countries that have experienced the highest levels of population emigration among post-communist states since 1990.
The report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) shows that Albania has lost around 40 percent of its 1990 population by 2023 solely through net emigration — the second-highest level in Europe.
On the other hand, natural population growth has been positive for most of this period and has compensated for about 27 percent of the 1990 population, partially softening the impact, though not enough to offset the outflow.
Kosovo, meanwhile, has lost 50 percent of its 1990 population over the same period — the highest level in Europe — although it has had a higher natural increase than Albania, at nearly 40 percent.
The report states that this major demographic gap is translating into a significant economic slowdown for Albania. In the second chart of the report, the EBRD measures for the first time the annual impact of demographics on per-capita GDP growth.
For Albania, the contribution of population change has been negative during the years 2000–2023, costing about –0.2 percentage points of growth every year.
For the period 2024–2050, the impact is expected to deepen to –0.3 to –0.4 percentage points annually, making Albania one of the most exposed economies in the entire EBRD region.
